Aemilia Buchanan
by SlytherinB92
Summary: OC Aemilia Buchanan falls in love with Draco Malfoy and helps him with his task sixth year. What would have happened if Slytherins had tried to defeat the Dark Lord, instead of the Golden Trio.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Advanced Potion Making**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Draco Malfoy...*sigh***

* * *

The smell of the greenhouse always calmed me down. I was sitting cross legged under the herb table slowly breathing in the scents of lavender and sage. All of the other 5th years had left quickly after class, but professor Sprout didn't mind letting me hide out here. The greenhouses reminded me of home, of my family's herbology business. From our estate in Scotland, we raised the majority of the ingredients that supplied Mr. Mulpepper's apothecary in Diagon Alley.

"Come on, Aemilia, we are going to be late for potions if you don't come out of hiding." Astoria Greengrass called to me from the doorway. She hated the greenhouses and the way the constant humidity made her hair frizzy.

"Coming, Astoria." I called back. I closed the composition journal I had been writing in and brushed the dirt off my skirt. It always annoyed Astoria that I sat in the dirt wearing designer robes, but I really didn't mind. The house elves were spectacular at removing stains and I always slipped them sweets and trinkets as little thank you's for the extra care they took with my wardrobe.

"What were you working on this time?" she asked as we walked briskly back towards the castle.

"Just making some notes about a new potion I want to try out. Professor Sprout mentioned something during class that gave me an idea." I told her.

"I'm so glad you are good at potions, otherwise Professor Slughorn never would have let us in the class with the 6th years." Astoria gushed. She hated potions but she was obsessed with Draco Malfoy, who just happened to be in advanced potion making.

"Are you going to sit next to him today?" I asked innocently.

"Next to who?" she quipped.

"A certain blonde, maybe?" I teased.

"Oh no, Em, I think I have a craving for some Italian today." She said with a laugh, giving me a nudge in the ribs.

"Poor Draco will be so disappointed." I replied sarcastically.

"What's this about poor Draco?" A male voice drawled behind us. Astoria and I whipped around to see Draco smirking, a playful light in his grey eyes. Astoria's face turned bright red at being caught talking about him.

"Astoria was just telling me that we are having Italian for dinner in the Great Hall tonight, and I know how you prefer something lighter when you have quidditch practice." I lied smoothly. He narrowed his eyes at me suspiciously. He knew I was lying, but rather than call me out on it he leaned in and quietly said, "Everyone knows it's the dessert that counts anyways." Then he winked at Astoria and made his way to his seat. We followed him into the room and found two seats in the front. Professor Slughorn had written a list of ingredients on the board. He had been doing a four week lecture series on healing potions.

"Can anyone tell me what potion these ingredients are used for?" he asked, his eyes looking around the room for raised hands. Hermione Granger was at the table across from us with her hand raised. I rolled my eyes. Professor Slughorn didn't call on her, instead his gaze stopped on Astoria. "Miss Greengrass…?" he asked her.

I smiled lightly as Astoria stammered. Everyone knew she was only here because I helped her so much. I wrote dreamless sleep on the top corner of my parchment. Thankfully, she glanced down to see it and she answered him.

"10 points to Slytherin House for Aemilia being prepared and helpful." Slughorn said. I blushed at being caught, but I also was pretty confident that Slughorn would let me get away with anything, perks of being a potions whiz kid. As he started into the lecture, I tuned him out, taking time to draw the details of each ingredient and listing out the medicinal properties. I had just finished drawing a border around the edge of my notebook when Slughorn started pairing students off for the practical portion of the lesson.

"Miss Buchanan, you will be paired with Mr. Malfoy today. Please gather your things and move to his table." The professor announced, then continued on with his list. I saw the small look of panic on Astoria's face at being separated from me.

"You can do it, Tori." I whispered encouragingly as Blaise traded seats with me to work with her. Draco already had the ingredients laid out in the right order when I sat down next to him. I started chopping the leaves in front of me. We both were talented at potions, so we worked seamlessly together.

"What were you actually talking about earlier?" he asked without looking up from the beans he was crushing.

"Three guesses." I teased him, mimicking his actions by keeping my eyes focused intently on the ingredients in front of me.

"I am assuming the Italian reference was about Blaise, but I am not sure how that applies to me?" He guessed correctly, though clearly trying to mask his curiosity.

"Oh you know Astoria, she was threatening to move on from her obsession with you and obsess over Blaise instead." At my answer, he glanced up at Astoria and Blaise. By the position of Astoria's hand on Blaise's bicep, they did seem to be getting along rather well.

"What a relief, for a minute I thought we were actually going to have Italian for dinner." He commented ironically. We worked in compatible silence for the rest of class. In one short hour our potion was a lovely deep shade of purple, and professor Slughorn was bottling it for us to carry up to Madame Pomfrey.

"Here Em, let me carry it." He said, taking the large box out of my hands. A shiver ran up my back at his use of my nickname. He didn't do that very often, only when he was in a good mood.

"Thank you Mr. Malfoy." I replied coyly while pulling my wand out of my robes. It was beech wood with dragon heartstring, unflexible. I cast a quick leviosa charm on the box.

"Good thinking. It was heavier than it looked." He laughed.

"Careful, Draco, or people might start to suspect you of being a gentleman." I joked.

"Ouch, not fair…tell me a secret to make up for it." He said. In Slytherin house we all dealt in secrets. It was one of our favorite forms of currency. Most of us had too much of our own money to bribe each other with gold, so secrets made a valuable alternative. I thought carefully, weighing my options.

"From our house or a different house?" I asked.

"Another." He replied instantly, mostly because he knew all the dirt on our house already.

"Potter is doing better than you in potions because he has professor Snape's old textbook. It has his notes scribbled in the margins." I told him.

"Bloody saint Potter." He spat, then after a moment, "I want that book," collecting his emotions back into a calm demeanor.

"Draco, you don't need the book. You know I will help you with potions if you want to do better than him." I said.

"It's not about me. It is about him always having an unfair advantage. Half the teachers in this place worship the ground he walks on. It just isn't fair." He said through clenched teeth.

"Ok, I'll work on it." I told him vaguely. The Slytherins knew I was good at getting things done. I told them it was because the other houses all liked me, which was mostly true, the rest of my skills I kept secret.

"Thank you for telling me. That was a good secret." He said as he grabbed the box out of the air and turned to carry it into the hospital wing.

"See you later," I mumbled as I watched him go.


	2. Chapter 2

The door to the hospital wing clicked shut behind Draco, and I made my way down to the common room to change clothes. I liked to go for a run before dinner. In theory, the size of the castle and the sheer volume of stairs should have kept us all thin, but I couldn't resist all the desserts that the elves prepared with dinner every night. Besides, Oliver Wood had formed the Hogwarts Running Club during his 4th year, so it was a fun way to hang out with some of the other houses. I quickly changed into my leggings and trainers, then headed out to the courtyard. "Hey Dean. Hey Cho," I called out as I walked up.

"Hey Aemilia," they called back. We stretched while we waited for a few more to show up. "Down to Hagrid's hut and halfway around the lake today?" Cho asked. "Sure," was the reply from the group. As we set off down the hill, I cleared my mind, letting everything fall away. I noticed a first year Slytherin falling behind. "You can do it, David." I encouraged him and slowed my pace to match his. We made the six mile loop back to the castle, panting a little and sweating a lot. Waving goodbye to the rest of the group, I headed straight to the showers. The cool water relaxing my tense muscles. I squeezed a liberal amount of rose scented soap out into my hand and lathered up. I rinsed slowly then stepped out, toweling myself dry. I stood looking at myself in the mirror. I used to be jealous of Astoria's petite, narrow frame, but I had come to appreciate my long legs and curves. My dark brown curls hung damp around my face and shoulders. I waved my wand with a drying spell, then tamed my curls with some conditioning potion. I loved the way it smelled like lavender and honey. Satisfied with my hair, I pulled on my robes and applied some mascara and lip gloss. Just as I finished, Astoria woke up from her afternoon nap.

"Hey lazy, ready for dinner?" I teased her. She replied by throwing a pillow at my head. I laughed as I pulled on my snakeskin boots. Astoria went for a pair of four inch stilettos that were not very practical for walking around a castle.

Later that night I laid awake in bed. I could hear the soft lapping of the lake against the floor to ceiling windows in the dorm rooms. I loved the way the moonlight shined through the water, breaking into a million tiny pieces. My mind was in overdrive, thinking about everything and nothing at all. Finally, I sighed in exasperation and threw the covers off me. I pulled on a silk robe over my shorts and tank top and slid my feet into my fuzzy house slippers. I wandered out into the common room where I had a cauldron set up in the corner with a potion brewing. This particular potion needed a month to simmer under the different phases of the moon. I checked on its progress and nodded to myself in satisfaction, so far it was turning out correctly. Astoria worried about the other Slytherins messing it up, since it was just sitting out all the time, but they never did. I believed the others left it alone because I was always willing to brew up something for my housemates. Usually it was several pepper up potions after a night of drinking.

After giving the potion another stir, I closed my eyes for a minute, a sound made me lift my head, and I was surprised to see Draco staring at me.

"Buchanan, what are you doing out of bed at this time of night?" he asked accusingly. He was fair in his accusation as it was well after one in the morning.

"Couldn't sleep, you?" I asked.

"That's none of your business," he snapped at me. That got my attention. Draco and I weren't exactly best friends, but he had never been rude to me. I stood up and walked over to where he stood near the fireplace.

"What's wrong, Draco?" I calmly asked him, taking him by the arm and pulling him towards the leather sofa.

"I can't tell you," he said more gently this time. I could see the red rim to his eyes and noticed for the first time the dark circles under his eyes. The coldness I saw there left me distracted momentarily. I left him there on the couch and went to my brewing station. I heated up some water in a smaller cauldron and dropped in a mixture that I always kept handy. "Going to kill me with one of your brews?" he said with an odd mix of humor and attitude.

"Oh yes," I replied ominously, pouring the steamy liquid into a cup for him. He accepted it and put it to his lips, taking a long drink.

"Chamomile tea?" he asked

"Chamomile with just a tiny drop of calming draught. It always works for me," I admitted to him, then moved back to sit with him on the couch.

"Thank you, Aemilia, you always know what people need." He said, then we sat quietly for a moment. Despite what he had just said, I didn't know what he needed to hear or what I needed to say to him.

"You don't have to tell me what is wrong, but just know that I am here for you, Draco." I looked deep into his eyes, daring him to shut me out or push me away.

"Could you just come here for a minute? I don't want to be alone just yet." He asked. Wordlessly I moved closer to him on the sofa, pulling a warm fleece blanket over us and laying my head against his chest. He sighed and leaned his head back while wrapping his arms around me. I savored his scent, a rich musk and a hint of a crisp apple. A feeling of dread hit me as I thought about what Astoria would do if she saw us like this. She would just die…or she would kill me. This situation had become complicated and I made it a rule to avoid complicated. Draco had fallen asleep, so I moved to sneak away, gently trying to disentangle myself from his arms. As I moved away I heard him whisper, "Please." His eyes were still closed, so I knew he must be dreaming.

"I don't want to do this," he whimpered. My heart broke for him.

"It's ok, love, I'm right here with you," I whispered in his ear. I tucked him in tighter with blankets and kissed his forehead. Then I retreated to my room. I hoped he wouldn't be upset with me in the morning. As I laid down in my own bed, I fell asleep with his scent on my body and his face in my dreams.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Slugclub**  
 **Disclaimer: Still don't own any Harry Potter**

"You look tired," Astoria said pointedly, "How late were you up brewing?"

"You know how I am," I said quietly. I hated keeping things from Astoria, but I knew I couldn't tell her about Draco. I stuffed a pastry in my mouth before she could ask me another question.

"Draco looks tired too," she commented wistfully. I nearly choked.

"What makes you say that?" I asked

"He is paler than usual." She said. She wasn't wrong. He looked extra pale in his black suit. I never understood why he felt the need to wear a suit at school. I was perfectly happy in my comfy Buchanan tartan skirt and oversized green sweater. Astoria looked like she stepped straight off a runway. Every hair was perfectly in place and her silk dress hugged her curves. How was a girl supposed to compete with that?

"You are staring," She accused.

"At who," I joked back.

"Just come on, we don't want to be late to transfiguration," she said as we pulled on our school robes over our clothes and hurried down the hall.

"Come in, come in ladies and take your seats," Professor McGonagall said as we walked into the classroom. She turned her back on us and wrote "Animagus" on the board with her wand. "Who can tell us what an animagus is?" she asked the class. A Ravenclaw's hand shot up. "Yes, Miss Lee?"

"An Animagus is the animal form a wizard can learn to shift into." She answered.

"That is correct, 10 points to Ravenclaw. Now to determine if you are even capable of reaching an animagus form you must meditate on your true self. Not every witch or wizard has an animagus form, so this is just as much and exercise in theory as it is in practice," she lectured. "Now take out your journals and spend the remainder of our class time answering the questions on the board. These will start you on your journey toward understanding animagi." There were 6 questions on the board:

 _Who are you?_

 _Define together_

 _What is the meaning of joy?_

 _What does home feel like?_

 _What is your element?_

 _How will you be remembered?_

I filled one page for each question before the class ended, but I felt no closer to knowing my form.

In charms class I sat next to Ginny Weasley. The other Slytherins gave me a hard time about her, but I appreciated her feisty spirit. "Hey Ginny."

"Hey Aemilia, how are you?" she asked.

"Good, are you and Potter together yet?" I teased her.

"What!? How did you…No, you know I am dating Dean." She whispered

"Oh that's right, I guess I had forgotten since I see the way you stare at Potter." I said innocently.

"Promise not to say anything?" she pleaded.

"Of course not! I hope it works out, but I have noticed he has had his nose stuck in a book more often than usual." I hinted. This earned a look of pure frustration from Ginny. She had obviously noticed it too.

"It is his silly potions textbook. It has notes written all over it and he won't let it go for even a minute. He has almost gotten as good as you at potions," she teased, "I just wish I knew where he had gotten it."

"Maybe I could check around," I offered, even though I already knew who the book had belonged to.

"Oh would you?" She asked excitedly, "You are the best at finding out information!"

"Sure, no problem," I whispered before Professor Flitwick started his lecture.

Later, I stood in front of the mirror in just my black lace lingerie. Astoria had been parading dress after dress in front of me, and I still couldn't decide which one to wear. She kept picking out tight, sequined dresses that simply weren't right for me. I walked into our large closet and closed my eyes, slowly I walked forward, trailing my hand along the dresses until my hand closed on a soft silky material. I opened my eyes and pulled the dress out of our closet. It was a silk dress my mother had sent me, but I had never worn. It was cut in a sweetheart neckline, strapless, and it was fitted down to my calves. Like everything in our wardrobe, the dress was green, this one was a dark forest green. The color made my hair look darker and my skin paler.

"Hurry up, Em, you are going to be late for Slughorn's Christmas party if you don't get moving, and I'm already jealous that you are going and I'm not, so don't make me tell you again," she said exasperated with me.

"Help me! You know I'm not as good as you are at dressing up," I complimented her, trying to cheer her up.

"Ok, ok, hold still," she said, pulling out her wand. She waved it over my hair, muttering, and it formed into loose glamourous waves. Next, she applied a glamour charm to do my makeup. She whistled, "You sure clean up nicely."

"Thanks, I wish you were coming with me." I told her.

"You will be fine. Just don't let him get too frisky with you." She was referring to my date who had a bit of a reputation for being a lady's man.

"I will be fine," I told her more confidently than I felt, walking into the common room. I saw Blaise standing there talking to Draco.

"You!?" Draco exclaimed when he saw me. His eyes raked over my body from head to toe. "You can't take her," he said adamantly, addressing Blaise this time.

"I think that is her decision," Blaise chuckled. Draco looked back to me. Astoria was looking back and forth between the two of us. A look of suspicion growing on her face.

"It will be ok, Draco. Blaise will be on his best behavior, won't you dear?" I said calmly. Draco glared at Blaise.

"Yes ma'am," he said in his think Italian accent and extending his hand to me.

"Fine," huffed Draco, turning and stalking away. I took Blaise's proffered arm and we left the common room to head to Slughorn's party.

The room was draped in green fabric and festive holiday music was playing. A few students were dressed in white jackets carrying around trays of appetizers and drinks. I took a flute of champagne from a tray. Blaise was chatting amiably with another boy and his date. Hermione Granger had brought Cormac McLaggen as a date, and I chuckled to myself as I saw her duck behind a curtain to hide from him. Luna was standing next to me, telling me about the nargles that were likely infesting the mistletoe. I smiled at her. She may be eccentric but she was fun to be around. Blaise smiled at me, and it brought a blush to my cheek.

"Dance with me, Aemilia," he said in a tone of voice that wasn't exactly a question.

"I would love to," I said, taking his hand and following him to the dance floor. The band was playing a waltz and Blaise deftly lead me in the dance. I was silently thanking Merlin that my parents had made me take years of dance lessons. Blaise was letting his hand slide lower on my back. I lifted an eyebrow at him, giving him a stern look.

"Couldn't resist temptation, you look delectable," he said seriously. His face was inching closer to mine. _"Is he about to kiss me?"_ I thought, panicking slightly. I was saved by a sudden crash at the door and the music stopping. Mr. Filch was standing there with Draco by the arm. I saw the flash of annoyance in his eyes when he saw the way Blaise had his arm around me. I took a small step away from Blaise.

"I found this one lurking in the corridor, he claims to have been invited." Filch said.

"Alright, Alright, I was gate crashing." Draco said angrily, still looking at me and Blaise.

"I will escort Mr. Malfoy out," said Professor Snape.

"Certainly, Professor," Draco spat, turning to leave. Snape followed, his robes billowing out behind him.

"Stop smirking, Blaise," I said as I shoved him in the ribcage with an elbow.

"Ow!" Blaise laughed, "That wasn't nice."

"Neither is smirking at your best friend when he is embarrassed," I chastised him.

"He just came up here to check on you," Blaise said, "he probably thought I was trying to deflower you right here in the middle of the party."

"Hey! That's not likely," I said, embarrassed at his comments.

"Which part? Draco being jealous, or you being deflowered?" he remarked sarcastically.

"Both, now be a dear and find me another champagne. I am too sober for this mess," I said authoritatively. I was glad for the four inch Louboutin heels I had on that brought me almost eye to eye with Blaise. He looked like he had more to say, but he just shook his head.

"Your wish is my command," he said with a slight bow, and waved a boy over with the drink tray. He took two and handed one to me.

"Cheers to jealousy," he said, touching our glasses together gently.

"Who is jealous?" asked Luna, who had popped back up next to me, seemingly out of nowhere.

"No one is jealous, Luna." I said exasperated.

"Oh I find that hard to believe," she said airily. "Hermione brought Cormac tonight to make Ronald jealous, and wasn't that your plan too Blaise," she addressed him. Blaise spluttered a little on his champagne. She continued, "Or maybe you didn't know Draco cares about Aemilia?"

"That's not true, Luna, Draco isn't interested in me." I corrected her.

"Funny how people are always blind to what is right under their nose," she replied before turning to return to her date, Harry Potter. That pairing was confusing to me because I knew Harry had feelings for Ginny. I couldn't process that though because my mind was churning with thoughts of Draco.

"I see your wheels are turning. You can fix it later, Aemilia," Blaise whispered in my ear. I schooled my face into a mask of stony indifference.

"I have no idea what you mean," I replied evenly.

"Well then let's get back to dancing," he suggested.

"Of course," I said, following him back to the dance floor. He didn't try to pull anymore stunts with me, and I kept the look of indifference on my face the rest of the night. However, there was a tiny buzz growing between my eyes. Every time a server walked past, Blaise would hand me another glass. I couldn't remember how many I had accepted from him. The room was starting to swim, so I held tightly onto his arms.

"Let's get out of here, babe," he whispered, his breath brought goosebumps up on my skin. I nodded and he wrapped an arm around my waist. He bid farewell to Professor Slughorn and a few other students, and we walked slowly down the hallway. I was just wandering why the castle had to be so large when Blaise pulled me into an alcove.

"Whaaaa," I stammered but his lips crashed onto mine. I was confused. Why was he kissing me? Why was his tongue moving across my lips? My lips parted slightly and his mouth became more insistent on mine. His hands were moving their way up my thigh. My mind was swimming, I felt like passing out. No, I was actually passing out. The last thing I saw was the look of shock on Blaise's face.

He carried me back to the common room. Draco was waiting there, pacing the floor. He jumped up when he saw me. "What did you do to her?" he growled.

"Nothing," Blaise hissed back, "she just drank too much and passed out in the hall on the way back."

"Put her here," Draco told him. I woke up when I felt the soft leather under me.

"Hello sleepy head," Draco whispered.

"Hey," I replied.

"Go back to sleep," he commanded me as he pulled my heels off and draped a blanket over me. I closed my eyes again. I heard him whispering harshly to Blaise, but couldn't make out what he was saying. The next morning I woke up alone. I had no way of knowing that Draco had slept in the chair next to me all night, only leaving a few minutes ago when he had woken up.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Still don't own anything Harry Potter

The Slytherin Common room was deserted, which was not unusual considering it was just after two in the morning. I was sitting in the corner with my cauldron bubbling in front of me. No light filtered in from the high window, leaving me in a dusky glow from the candles burning over my head. I had been working on this potion for months, and it would finally be done tonight. It only needed one last ingredient, a hair taken unknowingly from the potion's intended user. The potion could only be made for use by another because it had to be made by someone who had love in their heart for you. I dropped the single blonde hair into the cauldron and watched as the potion turned dark black then immediately the color vanished, leaving the potion as clear as water. It would be undetectable by scent or taste. This was a new potion I had designed, updated from an existing potion that only provided a few hours of protection. My new potion would provide protection from any spell for a full week.

The idea had come to me when I had overheard yet another Gryffindor telling a first year about Potter being the chosen one and how his mother had saved him with the protection of her love. The pieces had fallen into place in my mind. The old protection potion was brewed by the user and you used one of your own hairs, but one could only protect themselves to a certain extent. By brewing the potion for someone else, unbeknownst to them, it incorporated the old magic of love into the potion. Still, it would need to be tested, after all it was a new recipe.

I carefully bottled the contents of the cauldron into four small glass vials. They would only work on Draco, but how was I going to explain this to him? Part of me just wanted to slip some into his morning coffee and then fire a spell at him, but I also wanted him to be able to use it when he needed it most. I packed the vials away into a small velvet lined box and resolved myself to talk to him about it over the holiday. Looking around the common room, I found a discarded black ribbon. As I tied it onto the box, I thought it would make a pretty decent Christmas gift for him.

I was hiding out in the greenhouse again when Draco found me. Earlier, my owl, Vici, had delivered a letter from my parents.

 _"_ _Dear Aemilia,_

 _Your father and I have some bad news…we have found out about a rare plant that is growing in Greece. It only produces seeds when a siren sings to it, and as you know, it is the migration season of the sirens. This will be our only opportunity to acquire the seeds for the next decade. Unfortunately, this means we will not be home for Christmas. You can stay at Hogwarts or come home, but I am afraid the estate would be very lonely by yourself. We are so sorry honey, but we love you and will see you when we return from our trip._

 _Love Always,_

 _Mom and Dad"_

After reading the letter, I penned a gracious response to my parents then ran to the greenhouse to cry in peace.

"Aemilia, I know you are in here, I saw you run out of the castle," Draco said softly. I jumped at the sound of his voice then quickly hid behind a tall plant. "Why are you crying," he asked.

"I'm not crying," I lied while using the edge of my sweater sleeve to dry my eyes.

"It's just me. Don't lie." He said. His voice sounded closer this time.

"Why would I lie," I countered, all while keeping the taller plants between us. I knew my red eyes would give me away.

"You lie because you refuse to show weakness. It is the same reason I lie." He said, coming around the table I was hiding behind. His hand brushed away the leaves that covered my face.

"I don't want to lie to you," I whispered barely audible, "my parents won't be home for Christmas so they told me to stay here," I confessed.

"No, you won't stay here. You will come with me," Draco told rather than asked me.

"To the Manor!? I couldn't possibly!" I protested.

"Not the manor, my parents have a hunting lodge in Scotland. I usually go there for holidays and only go to the Manor when they summon me." He said.

"Are you sure?" I asked meekly. I was grateful for the offer, but I was worried about being an imposition. My heart fluttered at the thought of being alone with him over the holiday.

"Of course, most of my friends pop in and out during the holidays anyways. Blaise and Pansy can barely tolerate their parents, and we can tell Astoria and Daphne to pop by as well." He said calmly. I couldn't think of a response so I just walked around the table wrapped my arms around him.

"Thank you," I breathed into his shoulder.

"You are welcome, Aemilia," he said as he stroked my curls, "No more tears, ok?"

"Thank Merlin for magic," I commented to Astoria who was putting an extension charm on both of our trunks. The closet in our dorm also had an extension charm. It was a necessity when you consider all of the clothes we have. The closet was an accurate representation of our personalities. Her side was sequins and neon and almost everything was either mini or sheer. Even her school uniform clothes seemed a little shorter than regulation. My side of the closet was mostly leathers and neutral colors with a touch of lace here and there. Both sides were feminine, but mine just had more comfortable practicality.

With a flick of my wand my favorite shoes landed in my trunk, followed by my favorite dresses, jackets, and accessories. Lastly, I set my carefully packaged potions kit on the top with the box that held Draco's gift.

"I'm done," I announced to Astoria.

"Done?" she exclaimed in disbelief, "how could you have possibly packed for two weeks that quickly?"

"Simple, half my clothes are black…everything matches." She looked at me like I was crazy, then we both broke into a fit of giggles. When we regained our breath, she said, "I will come see you at Draco's place soon ok? I can't believe you got invited over there."

"Ok, Tori." We hugged and I headed upstairs to the Great Hall with my trunk. I saw Draco standing with his back to me, talking to Blaise.

"Hello Beautiful," Blaise said with a wink as I walked up.

"Hello, Blaise, are you headed home?" I asked politely.

"Yes, unfortunately my mother insisted that I come home, but I will drop in on the two of you at some point…probably unexpectedly," he joked suggestively as he elbowed Draco in the ribs, "So you better stay out of trouble and not do anything I wouldn't do with Aemilia."

"Is there anything you wouldn't do?" I questioned him.

"Smart and beautiful, better watch out Draco or I might just have to steal her away for another chance with her." He laughed.

"Aemilia is her own person, Blaise, it isn't stealing if she isn't mine to start with." Draco replied calmly, though I noticed the tense set to his shoulders and his clenched fists.

"Whatever you say, mate, see you in a few days," and with that he headed out of the Great Hall.

"I wouldn't mind, you know," Draco remarked without looking at me.

"Hmm?" I asked wordlessly.

"If you were mine," he said, still not looking at me.

"Oh," I replied dumbly, words getting stuck somewhere in my brain. My knees felt a little wobbly too. Luckily he took my arm by the elbow.

"Come on, let's head to the train." He said.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

We found an empty compartment towards the back of the train. Draco sat across from me, stretching out his legs, his feet coming to rest just barely touching mine. Still it felt like electricity was flowing through him and into me. I pulled down my favorite blanket from the rack overhead. It was a cozy fleece in the Buchanan family tartan. Noticing it, Draco asked, "Your family tartan?" I nodded in confirmation. "I barely know you, Aemilia. I practically invited a stranger home with me."

"I promise not to bother you." I told him, concerned at his statement.

"You won't bother me. I just want to know you better," he leaned forward bringing his face closer to mine.

"Ask me anything," I suggested.

"Ok, tell me about your family?" he asked.

"You know my family, Draco. My family owns the herbology business that supplies Mr. Mulpepper's potion company. We raise everything on our 400 acre estate in Scotland, it is what the Buchanans have been doing for generations. My sister is a healer at St. Mungos, she wasn't really interested in getting her hands dirty in the greenhouse. I am just a girl version of my father and my sister is just like my mum. I love them and I can't imagine my life without them. My sister and I spend a lot of time riding our horses. Nothing compares to the open air on your face." I finished wistfully, wishing I was headed home to see them now.

"I am jealous of your family. The Malfoys look presentable on the outside, but we aren't much of a family," he admitted, "except for mother, I know she loves me, but I do wish she would quit trying to arrange a marriage for me. I am perfectly capable of picking my own wife." He finished.

"In a hurry to get married?" I asked nonchalantly, not giving away the fact that his mention of marriage had sent butterflies to my stomach.

"Not really, I just have to be married by 21 to have my inheritance turned over to me." He said.

"Oh," I remarked.

"Your turn to ask a question." He said.

"Um, favorite food?" I asked. Then I kicked myself mentally for asking such a dumb question. I hated how being near Draco made my brain stop working.

He laughed, "That's easy, fettucine alfredo."

"I thought you didn't like Italian!?" I said accusatorially. He laughed again, "Well I've been to Italy with Blaise a few times, and it is hard not to love it when it is fresh." He remarked.

"Who is your best friend," he asked as his next question.

"It is Astoria of course. Even though she might hate me at the moment." I told him.

"Wouldn't you know if she hated you?" He asked a little confused.

"No, I wouldn't know till a month later when she finds a way to use it against me." I explained to him.

"But why would she me mad at you?" he pressed, the concern evident on his face.

"Well…because I am going home with you." I confessed.

"So," he just wasn't catching on.

"So…she wants to be going home with you." I really couldn't spell it out any plainer.

"Oh, well then yeah you are a bloody awful friend." He accused me with a laugh.

"Hey!" I gave his knee a shove in protest.

"I'm kidding, calm down." He said. "Blaise is mine and luckily we have different taste in women, so we would never have this problem."

I couldn't resist asking the question that immediately came to mind, "What is your taste in women then?"

"I like beautiful women, but I also like to be able to have an intelligent conversation, and I need someone who can put up with me." He answered.

"You aren't hard to put up with," I told him. In fact, I found myself more drawn to him every day.

"Well I am rather spoilt. I've just been on my best behavior with you. Blaise on the other hand is never on his best behavior and he definitely doesn't care whether his girlfriends are intelligent." He continued.

"Why did he ask me to Slughorn's party then?" I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me.

"Because you are beautiful, and he knew it would annoy me." Draco said, looking out the window, clearly not wanting to look at me. I decided not to press it any further. "What about you, Aemilia, what is your type?"

"I haven't given it much thought, but I guess I want a best friend, a partner. I want someone who can sit quietly and read with me, then jump off a waterfall with me." I answered.

"I didn't know you were so adventurous, Aemilia." He sounded genuinely surprised.

"I'm not, that's why I need someone to help me be braver. Everything seems easier when you aren't alone." He nodded at my explanation.

"What do you want to do after graduation?" he asked.

"My dad wants me to join the herbology business, but my passion is potions." I told him, toying with the idea of telling him about the potion I had made for him. Before I could bring it up he grabbed my hand.

"Do you want to come work at one of the Malfoy Inc. potion companies?" he offered.

"You can't just offer me a job, Draco," I teased, "you should at least interview me."

"Well when I graduate I will be going to work with my father running Malfoy Inc., so I'm pretty sure I can hire you if I want to." He said, letting go of my hand and smirking arrogantly.

"Well that is a nice offer then. I will let you know." I teased.

"Tell me a secret, Aemilia." He said seriously.

"That isn't a question, Draco," I corrected.

"Will you tell me a secret, Aemilia?" Draco asked sweetly. I searched my mind for a good one to tell him but nothing stood out. He was watching me intently and for a moment I was distracted by the intensity of his grey eyes.

"I am a virgin," I blurted out then covered my mouth with my hands. Why did that just come out of my mouth…of all the things I could have told him. As a general rule, I never told secrets about myself. As I chastised myself I was miffed to see he was laughing at me.

"That is not a secret, I knew that already." He said emphatically.

"What! How could you possibly know that?" I countered.

"Well for one you act like a virgin. Secondly, I know because no one has bragged about shagging you, and I am pretty sure you would be worth bragging about." He explained to me. I blushed, grateful for the way he had diffused my embarrassment and complimented me at the same time. I watched as the laughter died out of his eyes.

"I will tell you a secret. The Dark Lord has given me a task and I really don't want to do it." He confessed, avoiding looking me in the eyes.

"Then don't do it, Draco," I said in a barely audible whisper, shocked that he would share this with me.

"I have to. He will kill me if I don't. You are the only one that knows." He put his face down in his hands. This explained why he had been looking so sickly, so tired all the time. My heart went out to him. I didn't know what his task was, but I did know that I was going to help him, no matter the cost.

I didn't know what to say so instead of speaking I gathered my blanket into my arms, pulled the shade down on the door, and moved to his side of the cabin. Wordlessly, I laid my head in his lap and he lifted a head hand to stroke my curls.

"We will figure it out together," I resolved aloud.

"It's not safe for you, Em," he protested.

"It is safer together," I said with a tone of finality that left him silent. We stayed that way for the rest of the train ride back to London.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The black car pulled up to an impressive grey stone manor. There was a large wooden door in the front of the home with one of the largest door knockers I had ever seen. I took a moment to turn and look around me. There was a brisk wind on the Scottish moor today. Around the house, the landscape was craggy but there was some heather growing, giving the area a purple hue. The house had some sturdy evergreen shrubs growing in the front. I followed Draco towards the house and noticed the wrought iron details, the lanterns by the door, the handrail by the steps, the large doorknob, and even the window panes were framed with wrought iron. The house just screamed with Scottish practicality, and I instantly fell in love. Draco was waiting for me at the door with an amused expression on his face. I smiled at him and noticed the elderly elf standing in the open doorway.

"Hello Wimble, this is Miss Buchanan, she will be staying with us for the holiday," Draco told him.

"Greetings to you, Mistress," Wimble warbled in a voice that showed his age.

"You can put her bags in the first guest suite," Draco instructed. Wimble snapped his fingers and vanished with our bags. I stepped through the door and the dreary weather vanished in a wash of cozy leather and a large crackling fireplace. Draco was still watching me take in the details of his house.

"Well…?" he asked expectantly.

"It is perfect," I reassured him, "it is just like home, except you have the wrong color tartan everywhere." The Malfoys were an English family, so they had decorated in the stereotypical green and blue tartan of Scotland. Draco looked around the grand living room thoughtfully then pulled out his wand. With a wave he charmed all the green tartan blankets and decorations into the muted yellows of my Buchanan tartan.

"There, now you are home," he announced, and I felt a few tears well up in my eyes at the kindness of the gesture.

"You really didn't have to do that, "I said quietly.

"Nonsense, its nothing," he reassured me. "Come on, I will show you around." He walked me though a couple of sitting rooms, a trophy room with numerous hunting prizes, a small library and office, and perhaps most importantly, the kitchen. Upstairs, he showed me a few more guest rooms, including mine, and the master suite where he would be staying. Standing there in the upstairs hallway, he told me, "Dinner will be at 7pm in the dining room." I nodded and retreated to my room to freshen up.

I flopped down on the large four poster bed. There was a thick green curtain hanging from the canopy. From my spot on the bed I could see out the window. In the distance there was a lake, partially obscured by a clump of trees. I made a mental note to ask Draco to take me out there tomorrow. I rolled onto my back and closed my eyes. I could hear the wind blowing outside, and the howl of a hound dog carried along the air. I made another mental note to play with the dogs tomorrow. I rolled off the edge of the bed and went into the bathroom. In the center of the room there was a large claw foot tub with six spouts. On the wall to my left there was a marble counter, and to my right was a door leading into a large walk in closet. With a quick glance I could see my clothes already hanging there. I peeled off my clothes and stepped into the deep tub, turning two of the faucets. Quickly, the tub filled with jasmine and honey scented water. I inhaled deeply and let the bubbled rise up to my chin as I slid down.

Ten minutes later I was lost in thought and didn't hear the soft knock at the door. Was I dreaming about Draco's voice saying my name? I peeked open one eye and found Draco leaning casually against the bathroom door. I gasped and sat up abruptly, then remembering I was naked and exposed, I splashed back down into the water.

"Don't mind me, I'm just enjoying the show," Draco smirked.

"Git!" I shouted and splashed a handful of bubbles at his face. He looked down at his wet shirt with a scowl.

"Come on Buchanan, now I'm going to have to change before dinner," he complained, then without warning, he grabbed his shirt by the hem and pulled it over his head. My eyes threatened to pop out of my head when I saw him shirtless. I knew he was fit from years of playing quidditch at school, but my imagination could never have lived up to the perfection standing in front of me. My jaw was hanging open slightly, and I knew I was staring. Quickly, I schooled my face into a bored expression.

"Well that is your punishment for lurking," I said with more attitude than I felt.

"You will be punished if you are late to dinner. Get a move on, Buchanan," he said jokingly as he turned to walk out of the room. I waited till I heard the door shut behind him then let out the breath I had been holding. My heart was beating a million miles a minute. I stepped out of the tub and grabbed a fluffy white towel. I wrapped up and went to stand in front of the mirror. I ran my fingers through my hair and plaited it into a quick French braid. I then waved my wand over it, muttering a drying spell. I decided to skip makeup and walked into the closet. I pulled on a pair of dark wash jeans and an oversized green sweater. Sitting on the bench in the closet, I pulled on my boots. I finished my outfit with a pair of oversized pearl earrings.

I made it downstairs to the dining room right as the grandfather clock chimed 7pm. The dining table could seat ten. Draco was standing at the far end, holding out a chair for me. I took my seat, and he sat at the head of the table. The house elves brought the first course, a tomato bisque soup. We sipped quietly without saying much. The main course was roasted pheasant with prosciutto wrapped asparagus and loaded potatoes. Each bite was a burst of flavor in my mouth. "Your kitchen elves are very talented." I complimented him.

"Thank you. They have been here my entire life. A lot of what they cook with is fresh from the estate." He informed me. He poured me another glass of red wine as he continued telling me about the game and produce that came from the estate. The wine was a cabernet sauvignon, my favorite.

"Did you pick out the wine yourself, or was it the selection with the meal?" I asked innocently.

"I picked it from the cellar, do you not like it?" he seemed concerned.

"No, it is actually my favorite, and even from my favorite vineyard. I am just wondering if you read my mind or if you got lucky." I told him while meticulously cutting a tiny piece of pheasant. I speared it on my fork and attempted to eat it suggestively. I was silently wishing for Astoria's natural talent for flirtation.

"I don't believe in luck," his eyes were on my mouth when he answered.

"What do you believe in, Draco?" I asked

"Hard work and knowing you enemy, or in this case, knowing your audience." He replied without hesitation. I had a feeling that this was an idea that he had heard from his father his entire life. Although the hard work piece did surprise me. I couldn't imagine the wealthiest boy in the wizard world needing to work hard for much.

"You keep a stash of cab sauv hidden under your bed a school." He said casually.

"Have you been lurking in our dorm room too?" I teased him.

"I wish," he said emphatically.

"Why?" I asked, switching to a more serious tone of voice.

"I don't know, Aemilia. I just feel happier when I am around you, and I trust you." He confessed. I looked into his eyes for a minute then changed the subject.

"I saw a lake out my window earlier, can we go out there tomorrow?" I asked. He looked momentarily puzzled by my abrupt change of topic, but he composed himself and nodded.

"It is probably frozen solid. We can take some ice skates out there." He said. He pushed his main course away and the house elves took away our plates and dessert appeared in front of us. I took a spoonful of the chocolate molten cake and tasted it. I closed my eyes and sighed. It was decadent. Draco was smirking at me again.

"I wish you would make that face for me," He said suggestively.

"You have been in a playful mood since we got here." I commented, not giving in to his obvious flirtation.

"Can't resist." He said with a shrug, then he turned his attention to his cake. He was probably the only man I knew that could eat cake and make it look so sexy. I finished mine in a few more bites and waited for him. I sipped on another glass of wine while he ate tantalizingly slow. Finally he finished and leaned back in his seat.

"Come on," he said reaching out for my hand, "let's go find some comfier chairs."

I took his hand and followed him to the library. I browsed the shelves of books until I found an old familiar, Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte, who had been a witch herself. I sank into an oversized arm chair and opened the book. There was a large fire crackling in the grate. A feeling of peace and contentment settled over me. Draco was sitting in the other arm chair. He had pulled out his Nimbus and his broom kit. He started meticulously oiling the handle and clipping stray twigs. Sometime later I must have fallen asleep, but when I opened my eyes again, I found myself in my own bed, the moonlight streaming in through the window. I pulled the curtain shut around the bed and went back to sleep, wishing I wasn't alone.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Still don't own the Harry Potter Franchise or their characters

The smell of bacon woke me up. I pulled a silk robe on over my night dress and followed my nose downstairs to the kitchen. Draco was sitting at the marble kitchen island watching an elf prepare breakfast.

"Good morning, Em," he said as his eyes took in my scant outfit.

"Good morning, and who is this adorable elf," I said to the elf, earning me a huge smile and multiple curtsies.

"Lilac, Mistress," she replied happily.

"Nice to meet you, Lilac, you happen to be named after my second favorite kind of flower," I told her.

"And what is your favorite?" Draco asked without looking up from the Daily Prophet he was reading.

"Peonies." I said, sitting down at the far end of the kitchen island. Lilac handed me a steamy cup of coffee, black. It was peaceful sipping on the warm drink and watching her whisk around while cooking. Five minutes later I had an overloaded plate of food in front of me with toast, jam, bacon, eggs sunny side up, and fresh fruit. I barely managed to eat half of it, but Draco cleaned his plate.

"Where do you put it all?" I asked him with a laugh. He jumped up from his seat and grabbed at me playfully.

"It's a secret." He teased, "Now, I believe we have a date planned for today."

My eyes went wide, "A date?"

"You wanted to go ice skating on the lake." He said slowly. He was looking at me intently, his eyes roaming over my exposed legs and the lace edging of my night dress. Suddenly, I felt self-conscious of my body. I pulled at the edges of my robe, covering up. He noticed and looked down at the floor. "You might want to put on a warmer outfit," he said shyly. I nodded and slid out of my chair, walking towards the door. I glanced back at him over my shoulder and saw him watching me walk away. The look of sadness in his eyes broke my heart. As I walked upstairs to get dressed, I made it my goal for the day to banish that sadness.

Dressed in a thick cream colored jumper, jeans, mittens, and scarf, I sat on the bench in the mud room while Draco laced up my skates for me. He had already put his on.

"Ow! Not so tight Draco," I complained.

"Trust me, you want them tight or you will get a blister." He corrected me.

"I trust you…im just not interested in losing a foot from lack of blood circulation," I muttered under my breath.

"I heard that," he quipped then patted my thigh to indicate that he was done. I stood up, wobbling on my skates like a newborn pony. Draco grabbed my elbow and helped me to the door.

"How are we going to get out there with these skates on," I asked him. Draco reached behind the door and grabbed his Nimbus.

"Shall we?" he said straddling the broom and gesturing for me to get on behind him. I did as he wanted, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist. I nestled my face into his back to keep the wind out of my face. He took off and flew leisurely towards the lake. If it hadn't been freezing, I would have asked him to keep flying all day. I loved the feel of his body in my arm, the way his hair smelled like rosemary and mint, and the small sighs he would make when he would dip or bank on the broom. The lake came into view too soon for my preference, but Draco touched down and helped me down to the ice.

I pushed off and easily glided along the ice. I skated a figure eight then realized Draco wasn't next to me. I looked back towards the bank just in time to see him fall flat on his butt. I couldn't help the laugh that escaped from my mouth. I skated to him and reached out my hand. He took it and shakily stood up. Holding both his hands, I started to skate backwards, pulling him with me.

"Whoa Aemilia, not so fast," he said.

"You fly faster than this on your broom all the time," I reassured him.

"That's different," he said emphatically. I just laughed as I watched him try to keep his legs underneath himself.

"I'm going to let go now," I informed him. His hands tightened around my wrists.

"No you can't!" He said.

"I'm doing it," I said playfully, pushing him away from me. He wobbled a moment, then a look of achievement came onto his face and he slowly stood up straighter. He hesitantly attempted to skate towards me. I skated around him in a circle. He picked up a little bit of speed, following behind me as I moved around the ice.

"I think I am getting the hang of it," he said happily.

"Didn't you ever come out here and skate growing up?" I asked him.

"No. Father wouldn't let me." He replied. This stopped me in my tracks. I turned around on the ice to face him, but he wasn't slowing down. "Aemilia, I don't know how to stop," he said right before crashing into me. We tumbled to the ice in a heap of tangled arms and legs. Draco was laughing and I loved the light in his eyes, a light that was very rare.

I put my hands on either side of his face and pressed my lips to his. Draco's laugh died off in my mouth as he hungrily kissed me. I parted my lips allowing him to slip his tongue inside. I grabbed a fistful of his hair, eliciting a moan from him. "Let's go back to the house," he whispered against my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. I moaned in response. "Accio Nimbus," he said holding out his hand and the broom floated towards him. We climbed on and flew back to the house. He kicked off his boots and threw me over his shoulder, carrying me bodily up the stairs. I expected him to take us to my room, but he threw open the door to the master suite instead. He threw me on the bed, climbing on top of me. I locked my eyes on to his and reached up to unbutton his shirt. I let my fingers graze his chest with each button, teasing him with my slow pace. He let out a frustrated grunt then pulled my jumper over my head. I squirmed under his gaze as he pulled off my jeans, leaving me in just my black lace underwear. He stood up and backed away a couple steps, greedily taking in the sight of my body. I felt a flush come up under my skin. I stood up too, reaching behind me I unclasped my bra and held it out in front of me before letting it drop to the floor. I hooked two fingers under my panties and slowly slid them down to the floor. I stepped out of them and closed the distance to Draco. I kissed him tenderly this time. "Are you sure?" he asked me cautiously.

"Please," I said practically begging him to put his hands back on my body. I laid back down on the bed. He stood there in just his jeans. They hung seductively off his hips. He unbuckled his belt and took them off. Seeing him there naked caused my heart to skip a beat. He was perfection, sleek not stocky, but still muscular. He came to the bed and straddled me, kissing and licking his way down my body.

"Draco," I whispered, "I don't know, I mean, I haven't…" I trailed off.

"It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you. Just tell me if you want to stop," he said in between kisses.

"Don't stop," I moaned as he kissed my inner thigh. He slid a finger inside of me, getting me ready for him. I rocked my hips against his hand. I could feel myself coming close to the edge of release.

"Not yet, love," he growled and moved back up my body, positioning his erection at my entrance. He kissed me passionately as he slowly entered me. The feeling of tightness caused me to bite down hard on his lip. With one hand he held both of my wrists over my head.

"Harder," I begged him after he let me adjust to his size, and he started to pump in and out of me. I bucked against him with each thrust. I was getting close and I could tell he was too. He leaned down to suck on my nipple and it put me over the edge. I came loudly calling his name. That was enough for Draco and he came a minute after me.

He laid down beside me on the bed, gathering me up in his arms. We were both spent and breathing heavy. I closed my eyes and started to drift off to sleep.

"I love you," it was so soft I didn't know if he had said it or if I had imagined it. Maybe it was only a dream.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I was leaning comfortably against Draco on the sofa, reading a book, when Blaise stepped through the floo connection of the fireplace in front of us. I sat up abruptly.

"Well hello you two," he said, his eyes darting between us to take in the cozy way we were seated.

"Hello, Blaise," Draco replied calmly, not at all bothered by his sudden appearance.

"Why are you dressed for Quidditch?" I asked. He was wearing his Slytherin team robes and carrying his firebolt.

"I was getting restless at home, so I invited everyone over here for a game," he answered like it was obvious.

"Thanks for the heads up," Draco laughed. "Guess we had better get changed," he looked at me.

"We?" I asked pointedly, "I don't play quidditch."

"You do today," Blaise said as Draco went to stand beside him. They were smiling in a mischievous way that made me feel like I was about to fight a losing battle. "I only invited enough for a four on four game and that was counting you," he informed me.

"Fine," I huffed, "but be prepared to lose because I haven't played in years."

"You can be on my team," Draco said, "I play well enough for the both of us. Come on let's find you some gear." He took my hand, and I followed him past the mud room to a large walk in closet full of sporting gear. He drug out the heavy wooden crate with the snitch, bludgers, and quaffle, then he handed me a robe and helmet. Next, Draco pulled out his own set of robes. I braided my hair in two long French braids and pulled on the leather helmet. Draco motioned me closer into the closet, "Pick a broom," he said. Along the wall, there were several models of firebolts and a couple of nimbus options. I picked the second fastest option. I figured I was less likely to lose control on that one. "Very practical," Draco commented, almost like he read my mind. We walked back to the sitting room and found Pansy waiting there with Blaise.

"I've missed you," she squealed, running up to Draco to give him a long hug. Noticing me, she gave me a much less friendly hug. A moment later, Astoria and Daphne popped out of the floo. Astoria let out another shrill squeal and ran to me.

When she turned to say hello to Pansy, I whispered in Draco's ear, "if anyone else squeals, I swear I will Avada them." He chuckled and nudged me in the ribs with his elbow. "Behave," he whispered back. Finally Warrington and Montague arrived one after the other, dressed in full quidditch ensemble. Everyone knew those boys were serious about trying to play professional quidditch after school, and they were likely to make it too.

"Alright, form up everybody," Warrington said with authority. He was the Slytherin team captain, so he naturally assumed the leadership role. "Draco, Blaise, Aemilia, and Pansy, you are silver team. Daphne, Astoria, and Montague are with me for green team." He looked around for a moment, realizing we all had on green Slytherin robes. He pulled out his wand and charmed our team robes to a metallic silver. "That is better," he said.

We all followed Draco out the back door then mounted our brooms. The wind was cold on my face and I was glad I had on a thick sweater and fur lined gloves. We arrived at the pitch that was set up on the far side of the property in just a few minutes. Rather than the standard three hoops on each end, this pitch had one hoop on each side. We touched down and the four of us huddled up to talk strategy. "Blaise, you want Beater, right?" Draco asked and Blaise nodded once. "Pans, you can handle Keeper and Aemilia you can be Chaser."

"Draco, I'm not sure I'm good enough to be Chaser," I said nervously.

"It will be fine. I will play Seeker, so I can help you chase." He said firmly. There really was no arguing with him. We mounted our brooms again and Pansy and Astoria flew off to cover their respective goals. Draco pecked me on the cheek before flying off to circle the edge of the pitch. I blushed at his show of public affection. Was he trying to go public with us? Were we even an us? I was so distracted by my thoughts that I didn't notice everyone waiting on me. I squared up across from Montague, Blaise was above me to my right, Warrington across from him. On the ground, Daphne shouted, "Everyone ready?" we all shouted that we were so she released the snitch, which quickly disappeared, then she released the bludger, finally she stood underneath us and tossed up the quaffle.

By some small miracle I caught the quaffle. I shot off towards the goal, rolling to the right to dodge a bludger. Blaise batted it towards Montague. When I was close, I threw the quaffle at the goal, but Astoria easily deflected it into Montague's waiting hands. I chased after him, Draco flew down beside me. He motioned for me to fly lower. I moved and watched as he flew up behind Montague and knocked the quaffle out of his arms, but Warrington was faster than I was. He caught it and flew towards our goal. He launched it at Pansy. She missed and the quaffle went in. Astoria, Montague, Warrington, and Daphne cheered.

Blaise got the quaffle this time. He tossed it to me, and then hit the bludger at Warrington. It hit him in the shoulder. Draco was circling near the goal. I threw it to him and he kicked it through the goal, past Astoria. It was our turn to cheer.

We went back and forth, the score was up to 40-60 in favor of the green team. I had the quaffle again, swerving to avoid Montague coming at me. As I was watching him, I didn't see the bludger that Warrington hit at me. I felt it make contact with my head then blackness.

Someone was calling my name in the darkness. "Wake up, Em," a hand was brushing my face gently. "Wake up, Em," it said again. I didn't want to wake up. My entire body hurt, but I hesitantly cracked open my eyes. A pair of storm grey eyes were inches from my face. "She is awake," Draco said. I heard everyone sigh in relief. "Can you sit up?" he asked me.

"No," I whispered sarcastically, my head was throbbing. Draco laughed. "She is going to be just fine. Come on, let's get you back to the house," he said extending a hand to help me up.

"Ugh, I don't think I can fly," I told Draco; the hit to the head had left me dizzy.

"You can ride with me, "he said. I climbed on his broom, wrapping my arms tightly around him. We flew back to the house with everyone.

"Sorry I cost us the game," I told him.

"You didn't," he laughed. "While everyone was distracted by you falling off your broom, I caught the snitch." He said smugly.

"Well I'm glad my clumsiness paid off," I said sarcastically.

When we got back to the house, we waved goodbye to everyone as they left through the floo. As Astoria stepped up to the fireplace, she turned back to look at Draco and me, the jealousy clear on her face. I smiled gently at her, she just shook her head and stepped through.

'Come upstairs," Draco said calmly. I was too tired to protest. He led me to the master suite, pushing open the door to the bathroom. In the middle of the room, there was a large tub set into the floor. It looked big enough for six people. He turned on three of the four faucets, different color water flowing from each. The tub started to fill with water and bubbles. Coming back towards me, he pulled off his quidditch robes and sweater. He stood in front of me, sweat making his abs glisten. I felt faint, but I wasn't sure if it was from the head injury or his half naked body. He reached up to unlace my robes and let them slid to the ground. He pulled my sweater over my head. Reaching behind me he unhooked the black bra. Looking down shyly, I could see a large purple bruise starting to form on my shoulder. Draco had his hands on the waistband of my jeans, hesitating, waiting for permission. I put my hand on his face to caress his cheek, then I kissed him deeply. He took that as his permission and finished undressing me. I walked away from him and stepped down into the large tub. The warm water felt heavenly and soothed my sore muscles. He pulled off his jeans and followed me into the tub. He leaned against the edge and I settled myself between in legs, my head laid back against his chest. The bubbles had a gorgeous aromatic scent. I inhaled deeply and sighed. Draco grabbed a natural loofah from the edge of the tub and lathered it up with the bubbles.

"Lean forward," he commanded. I wrapped my arms around my knees and he gently scrubbed my back and shoulders with the loofa. I winced when he rubbed over the large bruise from my fall. "I'm sorry, I should have protected you," he said angrily.

"You fall off your broom all the time when you play quidditch," I retorted, but he was shaking his head.

"That is different. You were only up there because I made you go, and I should have kept a closer eye on you." He replied.

"I can take care of myself, Draco." I said firmly. I prided myself on being a strong independent woman, but it was a nice feeling to have someone want to protect you. "Maybe you are the one that needs protecting." I hinted, hoping he would open up about the task the Dark Lord had given him. He didn't take the bait, just mumbled a quiet, "Maybe."

He pulled me back against himself and ran the loofa over my chest and down my stomach. A shiver ran down my spine as he moved lower. My heart threatened to burst out of my chest as he started to nimble on my ear. Each breath grazed my skin in a tantalizing way that made me forget all about falling off my broom earlier. A whimper escaped my mouth, eliciting a chuckle from him. "I know what we need," he whispered in my ear.

"Wimble," he called and the old elf popped in. Surprised and confused, I attempted to hide further under the bubbles. "Wimble will you bring us some caramel and sea salt gelato? Oh, and bring a bottle of firewhiskey too." The elf popped away and returned shortly with the desserts. Draco poured two glasses and set one within my reach. Next, he dipped a spoonful of gelato and held it out towards me. I ate it off the spoon, moaning as the delicious cream touched my tongue.

Sitting in the big tub, being spoon-fed by Draco, it was easy to forget that he was being threatened by the Dark Lord. It was easy to forget that there was even a war going on. My family had managed to stay out of the conflict so far, mainly by being in Scotland rather than England. I reached for a second glass of whiskey. The heat from the water was making the alcohol go to my head faster.

"I can practically hear you thinking," Draco smirked. "What has your mind tied up?"

"The war, the Dark Lord, for a minute I had almost forgotten it was going on," I confessed.

"Don't think about that, Aemilia," His tone was surprisingly harsh. He moved away from me and stepped out of the tub. He grabbed a fluffy towel and wrapped it around his waist. His abrupt change it attitude rattled me. I hesitated, unsure if I should go after him, but decided on stepping out and toweling dry. I found a silky black night gown in the closet and pulled a warm robe on over that. I pulled the little wooden box out of my trunk and went to find Draco downstairs.

He was sitting in a winged back chair by the fireplace, a glass of firewhiskey on the table next to him. I stood in the doorway with the box behind my back. My heart was racing, was I sure I wanted to tell him about this? I could always just sneak it into his drinks.

"Are you going to hover in the door or are you going to sit?" Draco asked with a sharp tone. I sighed and went to sit in the chair across from him. "What is that?" he asked, motioning to the box.

"Happy Christmas," I said and handed it over to him. He raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"Christmas isn't until tomorrow," he protested, "You didn't need to get me anything, Em." His long fingers pulled off the black velvet ribbon and he opened the lid, surveying the potion vials nestled inside. "Trying to kill me with another one of your brews?" he joked.

"Trying to save you," I whispered, unwilling to make eye contact with him. He looked up sharply, his eyes setting my face on fire with an unwelcome blush.

"What are they," he asked with curiosity.

"You know the standard protection potion? These are a new, stronger version I created. Instead of lasting a few hours, they will last a full week each." I explained.

"You made this?" he repeated. I simply nodded. "Why are you nervous about giving it to me?"

"It works so well because it uses old magic. It has to be made for the recipient by someone else, and the strength of the potion is directly related to how strongly the brewer loves the intended user." I managed to say, though I almost choked over the word love. It was strange and challenging to say it out loud. I was still looking down at the ground.

"Look at me," he commanded. I brought my gaze up to meet his fierce eyes. "I love you too, Aemilia." I let out the breath I had been holding, joy welling up in my heart. He set the box on the side table and extended his hand to me. I stood and took his hand, letting him pull me gently into his lap. I snuggled my head into his chest. He kissed my forehead. We stayed that way until he carried me to bed.

I woke up in the morning, naked, with his arms wrapped around me. "Draco, wake up, it's Christmas!" I whispered excitedly, nudging him awake. His arms tightened around me.

"Five more minutes," he complained.

"No, now," I persisted, pulling the covers off him.

"Bloody hell, woman," he snarled at suddenly being cold and awake.

"Wimble," I called, "Will you bring Master Draco a cup of coffee, please." He bowed slightly and quickly returned with a steamy mug of black coffee. The smell seemed to perk him up a little. He sat up and took the mug from me.

"Ok, I'm up," he said. I jumped up and ran to the closet to pull on a green velvet dress with black patterned tights and chunky heeled boots. Standing in front of the mirror, I applied my makeup with a glamour charm and pulled my hair into a high pony tail. Draco had managed to roll out of bed and make his way to the shower. I went downstairs to the kitchen to find some breakfast. Draco came down a few minutes later, dressed in head to toe black. He looked so serious.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing," was his clipped reply, "Let's see what is under the tree. I followed him to the formal sitting room. There was an eight foot Spruce tree set up in the middle of the room, a large pile of gifts wrapped in brightly colored paper sat under the tree.

"What's all this?" I asked, confused.

"Our parents sent all our gifts here. Looks like a few from our friends too," he said after inspecting the packages. There were new robes and dresses from my parents. I opened potion supplies, jewelry, books, and a few trinkets. Draco has quidditch gear, the newest Nimbus broom model, and plenty of new robes form his parents. Astoria had sent me a beautiful arrangement of succulents in a metallic silver planter, and Blaise had sent Draco a huge pile of his favorite sweets and candies. Between the two of us we had a stack of fifteen books ranging in topic from fictions to sports to herbology.

Sitting on the floor surrounded by all these gifts, a sudden wave of sadness overcame me. This was the first Christmas spent away from my parents. Tears welled up in my eyes, I turned my head to avoid letting Draco see.

"Why are you crying?" he asked, reaching for my hand.

"I'm not," the lie slipped effortlessly out.

"I can clearly see you crying," he countered. "It's your parents isn't it?"

"Yes," I answered. He was quiet for a minute.

"I got an owl yesterday, my parents summoned me to the manor for dinner tonight." He told me. Clearly unhappy about going home.

"I will come with you." I told him. Things were always less miserable when you were with someone you love.

"No, it is too dangerous. You can't come to the manor." He said firmly.

"Why?" I was confused.

"The Dark Lord is there. I don't want him trying to recruit you." He explained.

"He isn't interested in me. We may be pure blood, but we aren't important enough for him to notice," I argued, "Besides, he isn't likely to be at Christmas dinner with your family."

"True," he said thoughtfully, "Ok fine, but if I tell you to leave you have to do so without arguing."

"Agreed," I confirmed. I wasn't interested in getting involved with the Dark Lord, so it was easy to accept his one rule. Plus, I was curious about his family. I knew he loved his mom, but he was distant with his father. He just never opened up about his relationship with them.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Later that afternoon, we stood by the floo, ready to travel to Malfoy manor. I had checked and rechecked my hair and makeup a dozen times. I wanted Narcissa to like me. He took my hand and we stepped into the fireplace together. He said Malfoy Manor then threw down the floo powder. The green flames engulfed us and when the world stopped spinning we stepped out of the fireplace at the manor. I took a deep breath, preparing myself for whatever was about to happen.

There was a little house elf waiting for us. "Hello Sunny, where are my parents?" Draco asked as he handed his cloak to her and then helped me out of mine.

"They are expecting young master in the green sitting room," she squeaked. "Thank you, you are dismissed," he told her.

He took me by the hand and led me through the manor. The house was so large that I knew I would be lost if I was here alone. He was pointing out rooms as we walked and explaining the relationships to the people in the portraits on the walls. Everything was ornate. Finally, Draco stopped outside of a large wooden door. "Ready?" he inquired. I nodded because the words were stuck somewhere under my tongue. He pushed open the door and I plastered a gentle smile onto my face.

Narcissa was sitting on a beige ottoman in the middle of the room. Lucius was behind her, a hand on her shoulder. I saw Narcissa's eyes widen slightly at the sight of my hand in Draco's grasp. She rose and rushed to wrap him in her arms. "I missed you," she said warmly to him.

"I've missed you too, Mother," he told her. He didn't hug his father, he merely extended a hand for a firm handshake.

"And who is this lovely lady?" Lucius asked pointedly.

"Mother, Father, allow me to introduce Miss Aemilia Buchanan, my girlfriend," he informed them. My heart fluttered at his use of the word girlfriend, but I quickly regrouped and extended my hand to Narcissa and then Lucius in introduction.

"Pleased to meet you both," I said demurely, "thank you for allowing me to join you in your home."

"It is our pleasure, we so rarely meet any of Draco's friends, especially ladies," Narcissa said happily. I was also happy to hear that Draco wasn't bringing home very many women. "Do sit," she offered, and we sat on the sofa across from her. Lucius remained standing.

"Buchanan, that sounds familiar, do we know your family?" Lucius inquired.

"Yes, my family owns the herbology business that supplies the majority of the plants for the Mulpepper potions company, Mr. Malfoy," I told him.

"That's right," he acknowledged, "Your family has the estate in Scotland." He seemed pleased, or at least satisfied at his recognition of my family. Knowing the doctrine the Dark Lord and his followers believed in, he probably needed to determine my blood line before allowing me to eat dinner with them.

"Yes, the Buchanan estate has been in the family for two hundred years. It was a gift from Queen Mary Stuart." I shared the story with them. I was proud of our connection to the royal family. I considered Queen Mary one of my role models.

"Fascinating," he commented, "and why are your parents so willing to share you with us on Christmas?"

"They are in the Mediterranean, collecting seeds from a rare plant that only blossoms when a siren sings to it," I explained.

"We are happy to have you here, dear, even if it does mean your parents missing you," Narcissa said, "Draco, where have you been hiding this sweet child? How long have you been an item?" she questioned. I turned to look at Draco, deferring to him to answer with whatever truth he wanted his parents to know.

"Aemilia is in Slytherin with me, we have known each other for years. Blaise took her on a date and I knew I had to steal her away, so we have been dating for several months," he answered. Several months? That seemed longer than I would have called it. Still, they were his parents and I enjoyed the idea of him stealing me away from another man.

"A Slytherin? How lovely! Our entire family has been Slytherin for several generations," Narcissa shared, "What about your parents, dear? Where they at Hogwarts?"

"No, my mother attended Beauxbatons and my father was at Durmstrang. They met after school at a forum for herb uses in medicine. I am the first to attend Hogwarts, and the first Slytherin. I hope to be the start of a tradition of Slytherins in my family." I told them. I was fiercely loyal to my house, so I meant what I said.

"All of the Malfoy men have attended Hogwarts, but several of the Malfoy wives have come from Beauxbatons. It is an excellent school for pureblood women," Lucius remarked. I smiled, not sure how to respond to his observation. Luckily, I was saved when Sunny popped in to inform the group that dinner was ready in the main dining room. I sighed in relief. I had survived the first part of this adventure. As if he read my mind, Draco squeezed my hand in reassurance.

Lucius and Narcissa walked in front of us, escorting us to dinner. Draco held my hand as we walked and Narcissa pointed out interesting tidbits about the décor. I was noticing that all of the Malfoy men had platinum blonde hair in their portraits lining the walls. I wondered if it bothered the Malfoys that I was brunette and could one day ruin the blonde streak in the family. Why was I thinking about having kids with Draco!? My hand involuntarily tightened on Draco's hand at the thought of kids. He looked down at me questioningly so I faked a smile.

Arriving in the dining room, we all sat at one end of the massive table. The four of us seated left twelve more empty seats. There was an elaborate floral centerpiece in a crystal vase right in the middle of the table. Mr. Malfoy sat at the head of the table with Narcissa on his right hand. I was seated to his left with Draco beside me. There were four elves to serve us, filling our plates with food and refilling our goblets with more wine, a Nyetimber Blanc de Blanc. The first course was a creamy bisque.

"Have you enjoyed staying at the lodge?" Narcissa asked Draco.

"Yes Mother, it has been relaxing, especially with Aemilia joining me." He answered her, though he was looking at me. She looked at me as well so I answered her questions also.

"It has been very nice. It is a comfort to be home in Scotland and have Draco to keep me company. It would have been very lonely to be at the estate by myself for Christmas." I said.

"You don't seem to have much of a Scottish accent," Lucius pointed out.

"No, before Hogwarts, I was tutored by an English professor. He was particular about minimizing my accent." I was about to explain further but I was distracted by screaming. It sounded like it was below us. Narcissa shot Lucius a sharp glare. In response he simply raised his wand and put up a silencing charm to block the noise.

"Do excuse the noise," he said, "our visitors are not always polite." I wondered if he meant the person screaming or the people causing the screams, but I simply nodded and returned my attention to the food in front of me. A small amount of panic was setting in, and I was finding it harder to keep my face impassive.

The elves brought out the second course, a cheese plate. I carefully speared each piece on my fork. Lucius was asking Draco about his grades. "Aemilia is top of our potions class." I heard him tell his father.

"Is that so," he commented, looking at me appraisingly.

"And herbology," Draco added.

"How impressive," Lucius said with a tone that did not sound impressed at all. "Draco, I do hope you have been staying focused on the more important tasks you have at school." He said pointedly.

"Yes Father, I know my priorities." He said through gritted teeth. The conversation lulled as the main course was brought out. The dish was a beautifully roasted tenderloin with a cherry sauce and a vegetable medley. Fresh baked bread was set out as well. I had just eaten my first bite when the door burst open and Bellatrix Lestrange strode in and sat down next to Narcissa. Draco put a protective hand on my thigh.

"Something smelled divine in here, hope you don't mind," she smirked as a house elf hurried to bring her a plate of food. She had taken a couple of bites before she noticed me. "Draco, aren't you going to introduce your Auntie to your little friend?"

'Aunt Bella, this is Aemilia." He informed her. I was glad he left out the girlfriend part. My stomach turned at the thought of her knowing about our relationship. I noticed she had some blood on her black dress that she had not bothered to scourgify off.

"Pleasure to meet you," I said quietly even though I was definitely not pleased to be meeting her. She looked at Lucius questioningly, he nodded, she looked back at me and said, "Likewise," curtly before returning to her dinner. The group remained quiet while everyone finished the main course.

When dessert was brought out, I temporarily forgot the tense situation. In a large bowl there were five scoops of different flavored ice cream. There was a large dollop of whipped cream as well as decorative chocolate pieces stuck in artistically.

"Oh Draco," Bellatrix said, "The Dark Lord wants a status update." Draco looked at me then wordlessly stood up to walk out the door. I wasn't sure who I should worry about, him for being with the Dark Lord, or me for being left alone with his family. I was lucky though, no one else said anything while Draco was gone. I was on my third glass of wine when he returned. He was shaking ever so slightly, he had a small cut under his left eye, and he was limping. I jumped up and ran to help him, but he waved me off. From the corner of my eye I could see Bellatrix smiling. That sick bitch, I thought.

Draco composed himself and said, "Mother, Father, thank you for dinner, but we will be going now." There was no emotion in his voice, only the rigid pureblood manners that had been hammered into him from birth. He turned to leave and I followed. He picked the closest room with a fireplace and an elf showed up with our cloaks. We stepped into the floo connection and were back in the lodge in minutes.

He fell to the ground, his legs unable to support him. I could feel fat tears rolling down my face. I cast a leviosa and moved him to his room. Carefully I undressed him to put him to bed. I accioed a bottle of dittany and gently treated the cut on his face. "What happened?" I whispered, not expecting an answer.

"Displeased, Cruciartus Curse," was all I gathered from his mumbled response. I gave him a dreamless sleep potion and once he was breathing evenly again, I laid down next to him. Why hadn't he taken a protection potion? How was I going to save him? Exhausted, I fell asleep in my clothes, my dreams haunted by dark figures.

Draco slept for the next two days. On the third day he was awake, but I made him rest in bed. I decided he was fine once he started making jokes about how sexy I was as his personal healer. "Maybe we could get you a little St. Mungo's uniform, and you could wear it while you take care of me," he teased. "Is it time for my bath, Nurse Aemilia?"

I laughed and tossed him some jeans and a comfy jumper. "Get dressed," I ordered him, "you haven't eaten in two days. I need you to keep your strength up."

"What do I need my strength for?" he questioned suggestively. I climbed on to the bed and straddled his lap. He smirked as I leaned in closer. I whispered in his ear, "We have to go back to school tomorrow, so we should make the most of our last day of freedom.

"Yes Ma'am," he replied seriously, thought the glint in his eye gave away his humor. He rolled out of bed. I didn't bother to look away while he dressed himself. He knew I was watching, and I was pretty sure he was taking his time on purpose. I didn't care either way. I was thoroughly enjoying the view. I made it my mission to memorize every line of his body. My eyes traced their way from the stubble on his chin, down his sharp jaw line. He lifted his arms over his head to pull on the forest green jumper. I hurried to take in his toned abs. My eyes settled on the slight bulge in his boxers. I didn't realize I had been holding my breath, but I let it out in a huff when he pulled the faded denim on over his boxers.

"Enjoying the view, my dear?" he asked me.

"Yes, in fact the view is very nice from over here," I told him as I took a few steps closer to him. Wrapping my arms around his warm body, he tilted my chin up to look into my eyes for a moment, then he closed the distance to my mouth. His lips lingered on mine, gently at first then with passion. I couldn't get enough. If it was up to me, I would have stayed here in his arms forever. Too soon, he broke the kiss and stepped away. I sighed and followed him downstairs. He picked up a shiny green apple from the bowl on the kitchen counter. He took a healthy bite out of it and smiled at me.

"Ok boss, what are we up to today?" he asked me.

"Draco, I think we need to talk," I said hesitantly. The smile slowly faded from his face.

"About what? Are you breaking up with me?" He said grimly, "I knew it was a mistake to take you to the Manor with me."

"Draco no, I'm not breaking up with you," I tried to reassure him, "but you were tortured in your own house on Christmas, don't you want to talk about that?" He turned his back to me in an attempt to hide his face, still I saw the flash of anger there.

"No, I don't want to talk about it." He said dryly.

"Well I do," I insisted, "Why didn't you try the protection potion?"

"Aemilia, he would have known something was wrong if he tortured me and I just stood there like he was offering a cup of tea," he explained slowly.

"Oh, I hadn't thought about that," I confessed. I hated feeling so dumb.

"I am sorry that you had to see me like that." He turned back towards me, his grey eyes showing his concern clearly.

"You were tortured and you are worried about me. You are insane." A nervous laugh escaped my lips.

"When he was torturing me, I just kept thinking about you. Your face, the way your hair falls down in your face when you read, even the way you hog all the covers in bed," he told me.

Tears had welled up in my eyes. This was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to me, but I fell back to reality when I remembered that this moment was caused by the Dark Lord. Draco reached up to brush away my tears with his thumb. He let his hand linger on the side of my face. I nestled against it.

"Draco, I need to know what your task is." I wasn't asking this time, I was telling him. I loved Draco, but I couldn't go on feeling so useless to him.

"You know I can't, Aemilia," he said firmly, "It is too dangerous."

"You keep saying that it is too dangerous, but you clearly need help. If it was going well, he wouldn't have been so displeased with you the other night." My voice was getting louder, pent up aggression spilling over. Why didn't he realize I was willing to die for him? Probably because I had never said so. Putting my hand on his arm, I looked him directly in the eye as I said, "Draco, I am willing to die for you, but neither of us are going to die if we just work together."

The look on his face when I said this was scary. I had never seen him so angry. "You may be willing to die, but I am not willing to lose you," he growled. I turned on my heels and strode out of the kitchen. My robes billowed behind me. I only wanted to put as much distance as possible between the two of us. I couldn't live like this. He was calling after me, but I wasn't going to stop. I made it to the large wooden front door and shoved it open. The cool December air hit me in the face, clearing my mind.

Draco was still calling after me. His long legs gave him the advantage and he managed to catch up to me. "Aemilia, please stop. Where are you even going?" his tone was borderline pleading. I doubted that Draco even knew how to beg, he certainly had never done it before. I was willing to test that theory out. When I didn't stop he said authoritatively, "Don't walk away from me." This really pushed me over the edge. I spun around to face him, gathering myself up to my full height.

"You tell me the full story or it is over between us," I lowered my voice threateningly.

"No, don't say that, Aemilia," he whispered.

"I can't do this. I would rather lose you now than lose you later to your own stubbornness." I turned away. I was quickly losing my resolve and I couldn't let him see my weakness.

"Are you sure?" he asked me. I thought about it for a moment.

"Yes," I said simply.

"I love you, but I won't tell you." He said with finality. I did not answer him. When I couldn't hear his footsteps any longer. I sunk down to my knees. Tears rolled down my face undeterred. I wrapped my arms around my knees and laid there until my body was frozen solid. A gentle layer of snow falling snapped me out of it. I collected myself and went inside to pack my trunk. I didn't see Draco for the rest of the night.

In the morning, I methodically pulled on a black knit skirt and a black turtleneck. I finished with black knee high boots and a pair of emerald earrings. I was determined that Draco would see no weakness from me. He was waiting for me by the door with a scowl on his face. He held open the door and then followed me out to the waiting car. The elves has already loaded our trunks. We sat in silence for the entire two hour car ride back to the train station. I read my book and he stared out the window.

On the Hogwarts Express, we sat in separate compartments. Astoria was clearly confused, but she knew better than to ask. I made it back to school without showing any signs of outward weakness, but inside I was broken. I wasn't sure who the winner was in this situation. The feast came and went in the Great Hall, but I barely noticed. It was a relief to finally collapse on my dorm room bed. I pulled the curtains closed and cried myself to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

-Chapter 10-

Disclaimer: I still don't own any of the HP franchise or characters

Weeks passed without Draco speaking to me. We would sit on opposite sides of the common room or look the other way whenever we saw each other in the hall. I became more and more withdrawn, and spent almost all of my time either in the greenhouse or bent over my cauldron. Draco looked even worse than me. He had large blackish blue shadows under his eyes. He looked paler and thinner. I was worried about him and wished desperately to just wrap my arms around him. My pride wouldn't allow that though, so I spent my time alone or listening to Astoria talk.

On one of my worse days, I was sitting cross legged under a table of vines in the greenhouse. Professor McGonagall had suggested that we meditate on our animagus essay prompts. A thick curtain of hanging leaves hid me from view, preventing anyone from finding me if they happened to wander in. I never worried about that because Neville Longbottom was the only other student that spent much free time in here.

"What do I want?" I meditated on the answer. It was conflicting. I know I want to be recognized as successful, the best, but at the same time I really would just prefer to be lazy most of the time. Still, laziness and success rarely coincide. "What do I want?" Attention came to mind. I want everyone at school to love and know me, but I only want to love a few in return. I want their attention. I want Draco's attention. I pushed that last thought down in my mind. "What do I want?" Adventure and freedom. I want to be outside in the fresh air. I want to run and hunt. Hunt? Why did I suddenly have a desire to chase down a rabbit? The thrill of the chase made my heart purr. Breathing deeply, I embraced my wants, my desire to stretch my legs and run. I felt my muscles tense, ready to work, ready to feel power surge through my blood. I opened my eyes, a sudden shock of disorientation made me shaky, realization hitting me that I was no longer in human form. I stood, taking in the feel of my paws on the damp soil of the greenhouse. I shook each leg, acclimating my mind to new muscles. My keen eyesight found an open window and in one graceful bound I was passed through and landed outside. A brisk wind ruffled my fur, but I was not cold. I felt alive, more alive than I ever had. I set off at a slow pace towards the forest. The same path our running club always takes. Faster and faster I ran, my muscles stretching and moving me across the ground. Finally, I slowed and came to a stop at the edge of the lake. Looking in the reflection of the water, I confirmed what my heart already knew. The paws, the whiskers, the beautiful pattern of spots and swirls, the tufts at the top of my ears, and a set of blue eyes staring back at me. My animagus is a lynx.

A sound across from me made me look up sharply. I crouched down, ready to pounce on the potential attacker. I was surprised to see Draco appear out of the trees and sit down at the edge of the water. The March air had warmed enough for small wildflowers to bloom. He picked one and started to pull off the petals. I didn't know whether to approach him or run away. I took a step back, a twig snapped beneath my paw.

"Who is there?" he asked sharply, whipping out his wand and pointing it in my direction. He saw only a lynx, not recognizing me in my animagus form. "Oh, it's only a cat," he said to himself. "Get it together, Malfoy."

I sat and just looked at him, curious to see if he would keep talking. He didn't disappoint. "Well what are you looking at?" he said to me. He narrowed his eyes at me, looking closely. "Your eyes remind me of someone. She has beautiful eyes. Too bad she hates me," he said sadly. He plucked off a few more petals. Finally he said, "You know what, I would rather have her hate me now than tell her I have to sneak the Death Eaters into the school and kill Dumbledore before the end of the year. She would hate me even more if she knew that." The pain was clear in his voice. I was thankful I was in lynx form because I was shocked. He had finally told me his secret and he didn't even realize it.

"What are you still doing here," he said to me. He picked up a small rock and threw it in my general direction. I backed away, and then ran as fast as I could back to the castle. I shifted back to my human body and ran straight to Dumbledore's office. I had to tell him. He would find a way to save Draco.

Coming to a halt in front of the gold griffin that guards Dumbledore's office, I started to second guess myself. What if telling Dumbledore got Draco expelled? What if the Dark Lord killed him for not completing his task? I knew I couldn't risk Draco's life in an effort to save him. I was still standing there thinking when Professor Dumbledore appeared from behind the griffin.

"Miss Buchanan, is there something you wish to tell me" he inquired, peering over his half-moon spectacles. I made my decision, "No Professor. I was just thinking and lost track of the time."

"Very well, my door is always open if you need to talk," he said gently before walking down the hall. I turned the opposite direction to go to the common room. I needed to talk to Draco.

Out of breath from running around the castle, I grunted the password at the statue that guarded our dorms. Through the door, I saw a group of first years playing exploding snaps. Astoria, Daphne, and Pansy were gossiping on one of the sofas, and Crabbe and Goyle were eating chocolate frogs across from the girls. Sweeping the rest of the room with my gaze, I spotted Blaise in the corner snogging one of the twins. Good, all the boys were occupied, meaning Draco's room was empty for the time being. I strode purposefully past everyone, smiling and nodding at them as though nothing was out of the ordinary. They were far too involved in their own lives to care what I was doing. Confident that no one was looking, I slipped into Draco's room. It was empty, so I sat down on his bed to wait for him. Waiting was not a strength of mine, but I used the time to plan the conversation. I ran through it twice before I heard a hand on the door knob. Panicking, I forgot my plan and just shifted in a hurry to my lynx form.

Draco didn't notice me at first. I watched as he tossed his bag into the chair by the door, and then hung his school robe in the closet. He hesitated at the closet before pulling off his shirt and tossing it in the hamper. His every move was precise and measured. The muscles in his shoulders flexed and rolled as he moved. The sight made me purr loud enough for Draco to finally notice the large cat sitting on his bed.

"Bloody Hell!" He shouted, whipping his wand out of his pocket to aim it at me. I merely cocked my head to one side and continued to purr. The shock on his face was slowly replaced with confusion and the glint in his eye showed curiosity as well. After all, it wasn't every day that a wild cat showed up in his bed. He took a tentative step forward, followed by a bolder step when he saw I was still calmly sitting on the bed. A few more steps and he reached out a hand to stroke the fur behind my ear. I purred loudly, nuzzling my head into his hand. I looked up into his eyes to find them watching me intently.

"Aemilia, is that you?" he whispered. In response, I climbed into his lap and curled up there. "Don't get me wrong, it is awesome to see you here on my bed, but what are you doing here, and more importantly when did you become an animagus?" he rushed out all in one breath. Realizing that I needed my human mouth to answer his questions, I shifted back again, still sitting in his lap. The pleasure of being in his lap on his bed was not lost on me.

"I thought we could try to talk again, and I found my form earlier today," I replied. Temporarily forgetting the animagus news, he unceremoniously dumped me out of his lap and stood up, pacing in front of me.

"Not this again," he shouted, "how many timed do we have to go through this?" it really was amazing how descriptive his eyes were, but in this particular moment I was slightly terrified by the hard glare that was directed at me.

"Just once more," I begged, hoping that the gesture would soften him. I hated the feeling, but Draco Malfoy was a man that needed to be in control. I was willing to give that to him.

"What makes this time any different than the other times we have had this conversation?" he asked through a clenched jaw. I didn't answer immediately, instead I took his hand and pulled him gently onto the bed again. I lifted a hand to stroke his cheek, he pulled away slightly but then allowed me to run the back of my hand along his pale skin. It was clear on his face that he wanted to kiss me. His passionate outburst only moments ago had riled him up with desire. I leaned in, but rather than kiss him, I whispered the answer to his question in his ear.

"Because you've already told me." He jerked away abruptly. Draco was very intelligent, I knew if I simply gave him a minute to think that he would come to the right conclusion. Sure enough, I saw his face light up as comprehension dawned on him.

"The cat by the lake, that was you, you know the truth." He said quietly. I simply nodded, unsure of how he was going to react to this realization. I was pleased when he wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly. The weeks of separation had taken their toll on us. He took my face in his hands and attacked me with his mouth. His teeth pulled at my lower lip and I moaned as warmth flooded my body. The sound of my desire only heightened Draco's intensity. He roughly pushed me down on the bed and moved on top of me. The weight of his body on mine brought back a flood of memories of the times we had been together. My hips unconsciously lifted against his, willing him to do more. He clearly felt it too, his hands quickly pushed my skirt up over my hips, and in his impatience to remove the barriers in his way, he popped all the buttons off my blouse in one fluid tearing motion. The aggressive way he was touching me, possessing me, was overwhelming. I had never seen this side of him before.

Suddenly, he was off of me and the absence of his warmth sent a ripple of goosebumps along my body. With his wand, he locked the door, then cast a silencing charm to ensure the students in the next room would not hear us. His eyes were raking over my half naked body. "Draco, please," I moaned, bringing him back to attention. He undid the button on his slacks and let them fall to the floor, followed by his boxers. His erection stood ready, and he wasted no time, plunging it firmly into my ready body.

I arched my back to meet each of his thrusts. His pace was intense and dominating, quickly building up a bundle of tingling nerves inside me. He pinned my wrists above my head and leaning down he captured one of my breasts in his mouth. The sensation was enough to send me over the edge. I cried out his name. He slowed for a moment, allowing me to catch my breath, then he flipped me over onto my stomach and entered me again. The waves of my first orgasm made every nerve in my body alert to his touch.

"Aemilia," he growled my name, "Never leave me again," he commanded, thrusting deeply with each word, followed by a firm slap to my behind.

"Yes, Draco," I gasped. Reaching forward he grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled slightly, not enough to hurt, but enough to cause me to arch my back and allow him an even deeper angle into my body.

"Now cum again for me," the confidence in his voice and the furious pace of his thrusts quickly had me doing just as he said. He moaned and with a final thrust he finished as well. We collapsed in a tangle of arms and legs, neither of us willing to separate. My eyes had just drifted shut when he finally said, "So you know the truth."

"I don't hate you, Draco. None of this is your fault." I hoped my voice sounded reassuring.

"What am I going to do?" he asked, but I had no good answer for him. I decided to fall back on sarcasm for the time being.

"Well for starters we need to get dressed and open this door before the rest of Slytherin House gets suspicious. He groaned but did as I suggested. I pulled down my skirt and repaired my torn shirt with a wave of my wand. I checked my reflection in the mirror, noticing with a mix of horror and pleasure that there were several love bites trailing down my neck. A glamor charm would hide them well enough. Satisfied, I turned just in time to see him pulling on his robes. I caught my breath, naked or fully dressed, the man never ceased to captivate me.

He extended a hand to me. I took it and we walked hand in hand into the common room. Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at us. Draco had a steely look on his face that dared someone to challenge us on this. I smiled weakly at Astoria who, surprisingly, smiled back genuinely. I heard Blaise mutter, "About time," to Goyle. Satisfied that everyone had seen and accepted us as a couple, Draco continued walking, leading me out the door and towards the stairs.

He stopped in an upstairs corridor in front of an empty span of wall. He shut his eyes tightly while I just watched him curiously. Seeing movement out of the corner of my eye, I turned to see a door forming out of the formerly empty wall. "The Room of Requirement," I breathed in amazement. Draco simply nodded then led me through the door.


	11. Chapter 11

-Chapter 11-

"Let me show you what I've been working on," he said, leading me deeper into the room. There were piles of old furniture and books, things left here to be forgotten. Somewhere an old record player was skipping and playing on repeat. Draco stopped in front of a tall triangular box hidden underneath an old rug. He reached up and pulled the cover off in a dramatic flourish. I coughed as a shower of dust rained down on me. "It is a Vanishing Cabinet," he informed me.

"Where is the partner?" I asked.

"In Bourgin and Burke's, but this one is broken. It is unreliable. That is why someone left it here in the first place." He said hesitantly.

"Is this how you plan to let the Death Eaters into the castle?" I questioned him. He looked away from me, but I never took my eyes off him. I knew he hated the situation.

He answered firmly without turning back to me, "It's the only way."

"What if we talked to Dumbledore? He could help us find a way out of this situation," I suggested.

"No. I don't trust that old lunatic," he paused, "but Professor Snape knows. He has been helping me all year."

"That is a good start," I knew I sounded timid, but I hoped my words were true.

"Snape won't tell me what he knows, but he seems to think the best course of action is to follow the Dark Lord's orders," he concluded.

"Ok, we can work on the cabinet. That seems like the low hanging fruit here." I said. When presented with a problem, my father had always taught me to take a step back and survey the entire scene. I glanced at Draco then took a physical step back. The wood was dark. It appeared to have been stained at some point, or at least oiled. Definitely not recently though, as the wood was splintering around the corners. "Are there any missing chunks of wood?" I inquired.

"No, I think I've found all the missing chunks," he said thoughtfully. I circled the cabinet. The cabinet itself was taller than Draco, I estimated it was at least seven foot tall. I momentarily allowed myself to be distracted by the tall, lean figure that Draco struck. It seemed to me that he matched the cabinet. Tall and straight at the edges, and yet the details were delicate and beautiful. "Did you hear what I said, Em?" Draco's voice brought me back into focus.

"I'm sorry what?" I muttered.

"I was wondering if we might find a book in the library about it?" he repeated.

"Oh yes, we can look for that," I agreed, "Do you know what kind of metal the details and handle are made with?"

"Iron. It supposedly holds the magic more effectively, but I've had to strip off almost all of the old spell work and re-charm it," he told me as he ran a reverent hand along the metal. The iron outlined the cabinet. A sharp edge that gave way to an intricate pattern of swirls that all seemed to lead to the long handle on the door. Still, the beauty was hidden under a layer of dust and grime. That seemed like the first obstacle to me, and interesting that Draco had been working on this for weeks and hadn't thought to simply clean it up a bit. I pulled my wand out, pointing it at the cabinet, and cast a scourgify. Quickly the dust flew off and the rust scrubbed itself off the iron. The wood was much darker without the dust.

"Huh, didn't think of that," he laughed as he walked around it seeing it clean for the first time.

"Men," I muttered, and then louder, I reassured him, "You seem to have made good progress with it."

He shook his head in reply, "Not enough, he isn't pleased. He wanted it done sooner."

"We need a strategy," I said, plopping down on a nearby chair. "We should do more research on it."

"I think we need to keep fixing the wood," he added also.

"Yes, I am sure we can formulate an oil to restore some life back into the wood," I agreed, "and that just leaves replacing the spell work."

"Oh yes, sounds like a walk in the park," he smirked. I could tell he was getting irritated, but behind his eyes I could see another emotion, fear. This was not the Draco I knew. Somehow the strong self-assured Draco Malfoy had lost confidence in himself. I cursed Voldemort under my breath. He would have heard me, but luckily his stomach growled at the same moment.

"Come on, Draco, let's go get some lunch," I suggested. He nodded and tossed the old rug back over the cabinet. Taking my hand, we walked downstairs to the Great Hall. We took our place at the Slytherin table. I sat on one side of him and Pansy sat on the other. Across from us sat Blaise and Theodore Nott. I stayed quiet as Draco and Theodore discussed the quidditch match with Ravenclaw on Saturday. I let myself wander back to the lodge, to a more carefree side of Draco. As if he read my mind, he reached under the table and squeezed my knee. His touch made my heart flutter. I wasn't entirely sure how I had managed to snag him, but at the same time I had a nagging feeling that I was already losing him. I made a mental note to check my tea leaves in the morning for any signs of foreboding.

I was tucked into an armchair in the common room when Astoria came screaming into the room, tears streaming down her face. "Aemilia, Aemilia!?" she called for me, I looked up from the book I was reading. She flopped down next to me and grabbed my hand. "Draco is hurt, we need to go to the hospital wing right now." I pulled her by the hand asking her, "What happened?" as we ran down the hallway.

"I don't know, Em. Professor Snape carried him out of a bathroom on the third floor. He was covered in blood," she sobbed.

"Oh no," I gasped. It felt like time was moving slower than normal as we hurried to him, but we finally made it to the hospital wing. I hesitated at the door, not sure if I could handle what was on the other side. Astoria tightened her grip on my hand and pushed open the doors. Draco was laying in one of the stark white hospital beds. Astoria ran to the edge of the bed and threw herself down dramatically with a sob. I approached more cautiously. Fat tears rolled down my face, and I felt like a stranger here, watching the situation through a thick glass wall. I just knew that if I moved any closer the glass would shatter around us. I moved forward tentatively and sank into the cold metal chair next to the bed. Astoria was worrying with the sheets, as if she could fix him if she wrapped him up tight enough.

I took his hand in mine and gently reached out to him with my mind. I was a terrible legilimens, but Draco was exceptionally talented. If his walls were down, I stood a chance of reaching out to him. I was pleased to find that Madam Pomfrey had not given him a dreamless sleep potion. His dreams were only dark emotions, not pictures, so I attempted to create one for him. I projected into his mind the wide grassy field next to the lake. I put him under a shady tree and sent a soft breeze to ruffle his blonde hair. The sun warmed the skin in his dream and he reached up and unbuttoned the top two buttons on his shirt. I came running across the field towards him in a kelly green sundress. I sat down next to him and pulled his head in my lap. I stroked his hair.

"What happened," he asked me.

"You are sleeping in the hospital wing, Draco. You were hurt," I explained gently.

"Oh, well thank you for creating this dream for me. It is nice in here," he said as he snuggled into my lap more comfortably.

"You have to wake up eventually or Astoria will kill you," I teased.

He groaned, "Is she here too?"

"Yes, do you want me to let her in here with us?" I asked, hoping he would say no.

He obliged, "No, I don't think I want any more pain today."

"Your wish is my command," I quipped.

"I wish you would kiss me," he said.

"Oh," I said dumbly. He had caught me off guard. Still, dream me leaned down and planted a chaste kiss on his lips.

"That's all I get?" he whined with false outrage, "You would think a dying man would get a little bit more action than this."

Smiling, I leaned in again this time allowing myself to taste his lips, crisp like the green apples he loves to eat. Suddenly remembering this was a dream of my own creation, I pulled away before I let it go too far.

"You need to rest," I said with as much authority as I could manage while looking into his grey eyes.

"Thank you for coming, Em," he said. I smiled and whispered, "Goodbye," as I pulled out of his mind. There was a ghost of a smile on his lips now, but I wondered if he would remember this when he woke up. More importantly, while I had been distracting Draco with sunshine and kisses, I had done some digging and found his attacker in his memory.

"I have to go, Astoria, will you be ok here on your own?" she nodded once, barely paying attention to me.

I headed towards the Great Hall, hoping that she would still be sitting there after a long lunch. Sure enough, I spotted her red hair from the entrance and went to her. "Ginny, can I talk to you?" she scooted down the bench away from some of the other Gryffindors.

"Sure, Aemilia, what's up?" she asked casually.

I wasted no time sugar coating it, "It's the book. Harry almost killed Draco with a spell he found in the book, Sectumsempra it was called."

I watched disbelief and fear wash over her face. "Are you sure? He wouldn't have used it if he had known," she whispered.

"I know, Ginny, Draco is alive, but you have to get that book away from Potter. I'm afraid it might contain more dark magic." I told her seriously.

"What should I do," she asked. Really, this was exasperating. I had just told her to take it away from him. Bloody Gryffindors.

I put a supportive look on my face, "Harry will listen to you. Tell him he has to destroy it, or I know, take him to the Room of Requirement to hide it. No one will ever find it there."

"Brilliant! I will go do that right now!" she jumped up and ran out of the hall. I moved over to the Slytherin table. Astoria had been kicked out by Madam Pomfrey, so she sat across from me pouting. She kept asking no one in particular, "Who could have done such a thing to poor Draco?"

I let her wonder aloud. I wasn't ready to give up this particular secret. Frustrated with her attitude, especially considering it was my boyfriend that was laying in the hospital, I stood up and stalked out of the hall. I wanted to go check on Draco, but I didn't want to show up empty handed. I headed towards the Room of Requirement, hoping Ginny and Harry had hidden the book already. I stopped and watched the ornate doors materialize. I opened them and caught my breath at the pile of forgotten things. I saw a pile of books, and I walked excitedly towards them. The potions book wasn't there. I sighed in frustration. Then it hit me, "Accio Potions textbook." I held my hand out expectantly, as the book came floating towards me.

"Draco is going to love this," I said to the empty room.

Back in the hospital wing, Draco was already awake and sitting up.

"Miss Buchanan, what are you doing here at this time of night?" cried Madam Pomfrey, "Off to bed!"

"I'm just dropping off Draco's potions textbook so he doesn't get too far behind," I told her. She seemed to accept this as a reasonable excuse and shuffled back into her office.

"A textbook, really Buchanan, couldn't you bring me some chocolate cauldrons instead?" Draco chimed in.

"As you wish, Mr. Malfoy," I pulled a package of cauldrons out from behind my back. His grey eyes lit up as I tossed them onto the bed.

"You read my mind!" he exclaimed.

"Not this time," I claimed innocently, batting my eyelashes at him in an overly grand show of affection.

"Well what's this about a textbook?" he asked. I plopped the book onto the bed next to the chocolates.

He looked disgusted at the tattered state of the book, "Ugh, couldn't you have brought me a decent one? You could get the one from my book bag in my room."

"Just open it and take a look, Draco." I commanded. He did open it, holding it gingerly. I watched with satisfaction as his eyes got wider and he flipped through the pages faster.

"Is this…" he started.

"Yes," I interrupted.

"How did you…" he asked.

"Now, now, Draco, secrets are never free," I teased.

"Name your price," he was serious.

"I haven't decided yet. I will let you know when I think of something good." I told him. He smiled. He appreciated that I wanted to maximize the value of this exchange. He probably did not fully understand that his love was enough of a price, but I was willing to let him think I wanted more.

"Thank you, Aemilia. I am always amazed at how easy you make it look when you get what you want, or in this case, what I want." He reached for my hand, but I simply patted it and stood to leave.

"Keep resting. Just don't let Wonder Boy and his friends see you with the book. It is supposed to be hidden." I said over my shoulder as I left. It was quiet but I thought I heard an, "I love you," from the bed behind me.

A couple days later, Madam Pomfrey kicked Draco out. Apparently he had annoyed her with his constant complaints, so she turned him lose early. We were sitting quietly in the library. Draco was scribbling on the parchment in front of him. I had a feeling that he was going for speed of completion on his homework, rather than accuracy. His long green quill would tickle my hand every so often. It was rather frustrating considering that I wanted it to be his hands not his quill touching me. I quickly scanned the library to make sure no one was close enough to overhear us. Hermione Granger was the only other person nearby, but she had a tall stack of books in front of her. On the other side of the room, Madam Pince was lecturing Seamus Finnegan for tearing a page out of a book. Satisfied with the surroundings, I opened the leather bound book in front of me. The Vellum pages crackled in protest at being turned. I inhaled a deep breath, loving the smell of the old text, _The Wizard's Guide to Practical Furniture._ It contained an interesting assortment of information. The chapters were sorted by living space, so I skipped past the kitchen and the bedroom chapters. Draco had not noticed what I was reading. Even though he had told me his secret, he was still keeping me at arm's length to keep me safe. Well he could think whatever he wanted, I was going to stay involved whether he liked it or not. Returning my attention to the task at hand. On page 232 I found a passage on Vanishing Cabinets.

 _"_ _The vanishing cabinet has been a stylish addition to the wizarding home since their inception. Made of mahogany wood, the cabinet is carefully spelled at each step of the construction process. Cabinets are made in pairs, as the user can only travel from one to the other. Each set is unique. The intricate metal detailing on the exterior of the cabinet is a clear indicator of the quality and reliability of the cabinets. It is well known that vanishing cabinets are temperamental in nature. For this reason, it is vital for the owner to practice regular maintenance including; oiling the wood, removing rust, and repairing scratches. Even the slightest of issues can result in faulty cabinets. Malfunctions could result in splinching of the user or complete loss of the individual into an unknown dimension."_

 _"_ _Using your vanishing cabinet is simple. The witch or wizard simply steps into the cabinet, securing the door firmly behind them. Next the user turns the handle counter clockwise until it locks into the upright position. The handle will slowly turn clockwise. When it returns to its original position, the witch of wizard is free to step out at their new destination. Handy for visiting close friends or family, commuting to work, or even going on vacation, the vanishing cabinet is a functional piece of furniture."_

"What are you reading, Aemilia?" by the tone in his voice, I could tell he had seen the contents of the book in front of me and was not pleased.

"It is never too soon to start thinking about how I want to redecorate the Manor when we are married, Sweetie," I smirked.

"Yes, I can tell by the lovely cabinetry you are admiring, _Dear_ ," he was positively dripping venom as he emphasized the pet name. I had no intention of letting him intimidate me. Draco might be the Slytherin Prince, but I was his Princess. Turning back to the bedroom section in the book, I flipped it around to face him.

"I've also found this lovely enchanted bed. It is designed to assist wizards who have trouble with limp wands in the bedroom," I teased him with a wink. The vein in his forehead was starting to stand out and he looked positively outraged at my implication.

"I haven't heard any complaints about my wand from the future Mrs. Malfoy," he said pointedly. My brain had stopped working at his words. Even if he was just kidding, the idea was blissful.

"Well I suppose we could find a different bed," I conceded, but I still stuck my bottom lip out in a pout. Draco looked far too triumphant as winning. Determined to at least regain a little ground, I gathered my things into my bag and shrugged off my school robes. Underneath I was wearing a form fitted black dress that was a little shorter than regulation. I had a Slytherin tie on loosely around the collar of the dress and instead of socks, I had worn sheer black tights. I stood up, then made a show of "accidently" dropping my quill, then slowly bending to retrieve it, allowing Draco a nice view of my derriere. I could tell the classic move had worked based on the way his jaw hung slightly open. "I think I will go for a run," I announced to the slightly dumbstruck boy. He nodded and I could feel his eyes follow me all the way out of the library.


	12. Chapter 12

-Chapter 12-

The setting sun over the Black Lake painted the sky a mix of deep purples and oranges. I was six miles into an eight mile run. I normally never ran alone, but tonight I had wanted to run without caring what anyone thought. To run my own pace and not worry about anyone else keeping up or someone being faster than me. I slowed down and took a breather as I turned to head back towards the castle. I never heard them coming. One minute I was running, the next, everything went black.

Aemilia never returned from her run. Draco was seated at dinner in the Great Hall, but he hadn't eaten a bite. She never missed a meal, for a little girl she always had a big appetite. Draco slowly clenched and unclenched his fist. "Pansy, are you sure you didn't see her in the girls dorm?" he asked for the third time.

"No Draco, she probably just fell asleep under a tree, you know how she is." Pansy said with exasperation. Draco just grunted, unsatisfied with that answer. He was mentally running through the list of places he was going to search for her when the evening post arrived. A speckled brown and black eagle owl landed in front of him and immediately pecked his hand.

"Bloody pigeon," he muttered, untying the letter from the owl's leg. He recognized his Mother's handwriting on the outside, and in the corner she had drawn the Egyptian Eye of Horace. Narcissa only used that symbol when her letters were for his eyes only. A feeling of dread settled into the pit of his stomach. He stood and strode rapidly out of the hall, ignoring the sound of Pansy calling after him, asking where he was off to. His long legs carried him to his room at a fast pace, and he locked the door behind him. Narcissa had only written four words in her elegant script, " _They have her here_."

Draco read it twice before incinerating it with a flick of his wand. He had to get home, but how? He couldn't apperate from inside school grounds, and he had only just learned how anyways. He could fly home, but that would take hours. He slammed his fist into the wall. The pain jarred him, but it came with an idea. Time to test the Vanishing Cabinet, he decided.

I woke up in a large comfy bed. The sheets were pale grey silk and a thick green and white duvet wrapped me up in a soft cocoon. Besides the pounding in my head, I could hear shouting in the hallway. I reached for my wand, but it wasn't next to me. Where was I? I looked around the elegantly decorated bedroom. There were portraits of beautiful women on the walls. One waved at me and I gave her a weak smile. She turned and walked out of her frame, and a moment later the door creaked open and Narcissa's blonde head poked in. Seeing me awake, she came in and gingerly sat on the end of the bed.

"I can only stay a moment, dear. They brought you here to make Draco work harder and be more obedient." She whispered.

"So I am a prisoner," I clarified.

"Bella wanted to torture you in front of him, but I have convinced her to leave you locked in here for now," she admitted. She wasn't making eye contact with me. "Call for Violet if you need anything," she added, ever the polite hostess. She turned to leave, hesitated a moment at the door, then closed it behind her. I heard the sharp click of the lock turning.

"Merlin's beard," I cursed under my breath. Standing wobbly on my own feet, I surveyed my prison. The large bed was in the middle of the room. A marble topped vanity was on the far wall underneath a large window, and then there were three doors. One led to the hallway, locked of course, the second led to a spacious bathroom, and the third was to a walk in closet. On closer inspection, I saw that the clothes and robes were all in my size. Another concession from Narcissa, I guessed. Shedding the clothes I had been brought here in, I stepped into the tile shower. Cold water washed over me, refreshing and renewing my senses, but as the realization of my situation set in, I felt tears mingling in with the water running down my face. "Pull it together, girl," I scolded myself.

I shut off the water with more force than was necessary. I wrapped up in a fluffy white towel and looked at myself in the mirror. There was a large black bruise covering the right side of my face. That must have been where the Death Eater's spell had hit me. Disgusted with the sight, I turned and moved to the closest. I pulled a black velvet dress from the rack. It was sleeveless but had a high neck. The hem fell mid-thigh. Looking through the shoes, I found a pair of knee high boots to pull on. They hadn't left me my wand, so I couldn't do my makeup. I sighed then called for the house elf, "Violet?" she popped into the room. "Could you help me plait my hair?" She squeaked with excitement.

"Oh yes Miss! Violet loves to braid!" she hopped up on the bed and quickly gathered my hair into a long braid.

"Any chance you could help out with this?" I asked her, pointing at the bruise on my face. She leaned in close, inspecting the damage.

"Hmmm," she said thoughtfully, then snapped her fingers. A wave of warmth spread out from my cheek. Jumping up to check my reflection in the mirror, I saw the bruise was completely gone.

"Oh thank you Violet! Very well done!" I applauded her. Her face lit up at my appreciation. I expected she was very poorly treated here.

"Can I get the Miss anything else?" she asked.

"Could I get some breakfast, please? Something hearty." I told her. She disappeared then quickly returned with a full tray of food and tea. Even with my nerves, I did my best to eat. I would need my strength if it came to a fight.

Draco had skipped breakfast. He had stayed up all night working on the cabinet. Through it all, he knew he had to get home to the Manor before they hurt Aemilia. He felt confident that his mother would protect her as long as possible. Still, he couldn't help but dwell on the pain that the Dark Lord and his Aunt Bella were likely to inflict on her. Focusing on the task in front of him, he had tested the cabinet on a small black bird. He waited while the handle turned and clicked. He heard the little bird tapping inside. He released the breath he had been holding. It had worked. Without hesitation he stepped into the cabinet and turned the handle. It clicked back into position and he stepped out into Bourgin and Burke's shop. He momentarily felt the triumph of his success, but the feeling was quickly replaced by a sense of purpose. Ignoring the old shop keeper, he walked into the floo and clearly announced, "Malfoy Manor."

There was a knock on the door. I hoped it was Narcissa, but instead it was Lucius standing on the other side. He was dressed in his death eater robes. The stiff fabric was lined with silver embroidery. "Aemilia, dear, would you accompany me downstairs?" he requested politely, yet I could hear the edge in his tone.

"Yes, just one moment," I said as I hurried into the extensive closet and pulled on a sturdy set of robes. The fabric was suede and the shoulders were layered with leather. It gave me an additional sense of security as I pulled it on over my black dress. One deep breath later and I opened the door again to find Lucius waiting patiently for me. He offered me his arm and I took it. With my heart threatening to give out on me, it was a relief to fall back on pureblood manors that had been ingrained for so long. We passed the library and dining room. He led me through a large set of French doors out onto the verandah. The night air was quiet and a large blood moon hung in the sky. From our vantage point I could see the Dark Lord in the rose garden with seven others in black robes.

Whatever was going on down there about to involve me, and I wondered why he needed so many grown men to keep me in line. "Should I be worried?" I asked Lucius quietly.

"Of course not," he replied too quickly and with over exaggerated easiness. His eyes were darting back and forth between the different men assembled. He stopped at the edge of the garden and inclined his chin, indicating that I was meant to continue forward. I set my jaw at a bold angle and strode forward purposefully, letting my robes billow behind me. I was unwilling to show fear in front of the Dark Lord. Stopping before him, I dipped into a low curtsy, saying demurely, "My Lord."

"What a charming girl," he said in a low voice, "I've heard so much about you."

"I'm honored to have captured your attention, Lord." I told him. Keeping my eyes down.

"You seem to have captivated the young Mr. Malfoy," he said pointedly.

I hesitated briefly, "We make a good team, but it would be hard to distract someone as driven as Draco," I said carefully. He rose from his seat and floated towards me, his robes concealing his steps.

"A team you say, but I wonder if you are both loyal to the same cause?" he whispered near my ear. I was trying to find a satisfactory answer for that when I felt his probing touch in my mind. I had nothing to hide from him, but I moved a few choice memories towards the front. My pureblood family, my loyalty to Slytherin house, my exceptional potions skills, my love for Draco, he pulled away. I shook my head trying to clear the fog he had left behind.

"I hope you found the answers you were looking for, my Lord," I said.

"Yes, I think we can find a use for you, even if it is just motivation for Draco," he said to himself. I remained silent, expecting him to elaborate. Instead he motioned to two of the men who moved closer. "You can swear loyalty to me or you can die. What is your choice?" he asked me.

I snorted at the ridiculous offer he had made, "That is hardly a choice, I'm not interested in dying," I said with more arrogance than I felt. I moved two steps forward till I was standing directly in front of Voldemort again. I stuck out my arm and pushed up my sleeve. "I choose loyalty to you."

A devastating smile spread across his face as he pulled out his wand and pressed the tip against my left forearm. Without warning, excruciating pain spread up my body, creeping its way towards my heart. It felt like my very soul would be ripped out through my chest. I resisted the urge to scream, choosing instead to keep my eyes fiercely locked on Voldemort's sneer. It was over in moments but it could have been a lifetime. At some point I had fallen to my knees.

I slowly rose, averting my gaze from the new tattoo on my arm.

"Now you and Draco are equal. Serve me well and you will be rewarded. Fail me and you die. I think you will find that Draco could use your help with a task I have assigned him." He said with a dismissive wave of his hand. Lucius came forward to lead me away. He looked shaken, his face was ashen, but he walked briskly back towards the house. I guessed that he had not expected the Dark Lord to make me a death eater. I hadn't expected it either, but it was better than being tortured or killed.

As we neared the veranda doors I heard muffled shouting, "This is _MY_ home!" the voice suddenly clicked in my mind. Draco! I broke away from Lucius and ran towards the doors, they burst open and I ran directly into Draco's arms.

"Draco," I breathed in relief against his shoulder. The relief was short lived though, he was trying to push past me further outside towards the garden. 'Draco we need to leave," I said with urgency. He wasn't listening to me because he was squaring up in front of his father instead.

"You should have protected her," Lucius said to him. He leaned in and whispered threateningly in Draco's ear. I couldn't hear him, but I saw a wild look in Draco's grey eyes.

"Please," I said quietly. I was on the verge of tears and I really just wanted to get out of there. The desperation in my voice must have gotten through to him. He wrapped his arms around me and led me to the fireplace to floo back to Hogsmede. We stepped out of the fireplace in the Three Broomsticks and started back towards the castle. Draco was practically dragging me behind him. His long legs covered more ground than I could.

"Stop, Draco," I said but he didn't hear, or he didn't slow down either way. I raised my voice, "Draco, stop for a minute." He stopped this time, but he didn't turn around to look at me. We were halfway back to the castle. He looked ahead of us, his face lit up by the moonlight. Draco finally turned to face me, but he couldn't make eye contact with me. He held my left hand and slowly pushed up my sleeve. I looked down seeing it for the first time. The dark mark stood out clearly on my pale skin. There was pain in his eyes as he saw it. He tried to say something but the words only choked in his throat. He put his arm next to mine and rolled up his sleeve. I had seen his mark before, but there we stood in the middle of the night, arms stuck out with two dark marks on pale skin.

"I've let you down again," he choked out.

"No, this was my choice," I lied, but then said honestly, "You are worth this and much more. He called us a team, Draco. He did this to threaten you. We can't let him win."

"I know," he said, pulling me close and nuzzling his face into my hair. He inhaled deeply. "Let's get back to the castle," he said and started to walk again.

"Draco, how did you leave the castle to come find me?" I asked him as we walked.

"Oh, I used the vanishing cabinet to Diagon Alley, then flooed to the Manor." He nonchalantly told me, as if he hadn't been working on it for months.

"You shouldn't have done something so dangerous. How Gryffindor of you," I teased, allowing myself to enjoy the knowledge that my capture had inspired such reckless behavior from him. "Are you going to tell the Dark Lord that you are prepared?" I asked.

He grimaced at my question and stole a quick glance at my left arm. "I want you to stay out of this from here on," he told me for what seemed like the hundredth time. His insistence infuriated me.

"Don't you think it is a little late for that? He bloody branded me with a dark mark not two hours ago. I think I'm basically right in the thick of it with you," I hissed through clenched teeth.

"If you had stayed out of it in the first place you wouldn't have _that_ ," he spat indicating my arm.

"What if we kill him?" I said slowly. Draco just stared at me. "What if we find a way out of all this?"

"Don't talk like that, Em. Someone might hear," he had covered my mouth with his hand and whipped his head back and forth looking for intruders. I gently bit his hand to indicate that I would behave and not mention it again. He pulled it away from my mouth and pushed back a stray curl. He gently kissed me on the forehead then continued walking.

Sneaking around the side of the castle, we found the secret passage that led to the dungeons. The passage was one of the best kept Slytherin secrets, only fourth years and older were allowed to know. We walked through the tunnel in silence. At the end, Draco peeked his head out from behind the tapestry to check if the coast was clear. I stifled a scream when he was bodily dragged out of the tunnel. Rushing to his aide, I quickly found myself face to face with Professor Snape. He had a firm grip on Draco's arm, and grabbing me by the back of the robe, he shoved us both into his dark office.

"What were you thinking?" he accused Draco, "how could you let this girl get involved?"

"She got herself involved," he tried to counter but the look on Snape's face shut him up again. Snape snapped around to face me, looming menacingly over my head. Without a word he reached out and pulled back my sleeve.

"A fifteen year old girl and a love struck teenage boy. This is what the Dark Lord wants to fight his battles with," he lectured critically to no one in particular. "Pitiful," he concluded. I wondered momentarily if he meant us or Voldemort, but Draco was already stressed out and worked up for a fight.

"We are not pitiful," he argued, "I have already completed part of my task and now there is only Dumbledore." A flash of pain crossed Snape's face but was quickly wiped away and replaced with a sneer.

"Very well then, what do you propose to do about that?" he inquired, "Considering your other attempts have failed so miserably."

"Other attempts?" I asked, rounding on Draco. He had failed to mention any attempts on Dumbledore's life.

"Well well, apparently you have managed to keep a couple of secrets from your little girlfriend here. Would you like to tell her or shall I?" Snape sneered. Draco's face had turned an unflattering shade of red and there was a vein standing up in sharp relief against his forehead.

"Oh do please continue," Draco said.

"Your dear sweet boyfriend managed to send two students to the hospital wing with his attempts. You no doubt heard about Katie Bell being cursed by a necklace and Ron Weasley getting a dose of poison in a bottle of mead." He let his voice trail off as the knowledge of what he said sank in.

"That was you?" I asked Draco. He met my eyes but did not confirm or deny it. That was enough of an answer for me. "You could have hurt someone, Draco." I said dumbly before remembering that the intent had indeed been to hurt a particular person. "I would have helped you find something better than that," I muttered in a lame attempt to correct myself.

"It doesn't matter now. We will just corner him when the death eaters come in through the cabinet. I will kill him the old fashion way," his words lacked conviction though. Snape seemed to notice too.

"I promised your mother I would protect you," Snape said firmly. I stepped forward to take Draco's hand. He looked down at it surprised, as though he expected me to have slipped away after hearing what he had done. The gesture resulted in a disgusted sneer from Snape.

"Get to bed, both of you, before someone catches you wandering about," and with that he shoved us out the door and with a dramatic turn, he slammed the door. We hurried down the hall and quietly slipped into our respective dorm rooms. Exhaustion won and I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.


	13. Chapter 13

-Chapter 13-

We were nearing the end of term, students were starting to stress out about exams, but all Draco and I could think about was surviving. The dark marks on our arms served as a constant reminder of our own problems. I was currently avoiding my problems by hiding out in the library. There were two symmetrical stacks of books on the table. To my left was a stack of potions textbooks and to my right were herbology books. I was spending my afternoon reading potions and cross referencing the ingredients to the descriptions of the plants they were sourced from. I had just finished making a few notes on interesting divination enhancers when I heard whispering from behind the nearest bookshelf. Quietly, I snuck closer, till I was directly across from the voices. Peeking through the spaces between the books, I saw the Golden Trio whispering with their heads close together.

"Are you sure about this, Harry?" Hermione questioned him.

"Yes, Dumbledore was certain." He answered her.

"How many?" she pressed.

"We aren't positive, but in the memory he asked Slughorn if it would be possible to make seven." Harry said slowly.

"SEVEN?" exclaimed Ron loudly. They both shushed him before Harry continued.

"Tom Riddle's diary was one and Dumbledore had a ring as well. Those are destroyed, which leaves five." He explained.

"And he can be killed if we destroy them all?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Harry replied simply. I heard footsteps and the voices were getting further away. I hurried back to my table, but they didn't even glance my way. Seven of what, I thought to myself. I knew they must have been referring to killing the Dark Lord. I waited five minutes to give them a head start then hurried to tell Draco.

"Horcruxes," Draco immediately exclaimed when I finished telling him what I had heard. "That is really dark magic," he said.

"If we destroy them all, we could be free of all of our problems," I said quietly.

Draco was shocked by my statement. "You want to kill the Dark Lord? Are you insane?" he hissed at me.

"Well we know him better than that lot…we are more likely to figure them out than they are," I answered calmly. I needed Draco to see me confident so he would go along. "Think about what you have overheard the past two years he has been at the Manor," I encouraged him.

"Ok, there are seven you said…a ring and a diary are already out. My first guess is the bloody great snake, Nagini. She is too intelligent to be an ordinary snake," he said thoughtfully.

"Ok that makes 3, what else?" I prodded.

"Aunt Bella has a goblet that belonged to Helga Hufflepuff hidden in her vault. I went with her when she put it there and she acted oddly protective of it, considering she hates Hufflepuffs," he suggested.

"A cup…" I said skeptically.

"From a founder, Em. That is kind of important," He said "What items do the other founders have?"

"Um, the lost diadem of Ravenclaw, the sword of Gryffindor, and Slytherin had a locket," I said.

"Ok well he isn't likely to hide his soul in anything related to those blood traitor Gryffindors," he laughed at the absurdity of the idea.

"Right, not the sword," I agreed.

"But maybe the diadem," he said with a nod.

"Didn't you hear me say that it is lost?" I asked slowly.

He didn't hesitate, "It isn't lost; it's in the Room of Requirement."

I almost spit out the pumpkin juice I was drinking, "Excuse me?" I spluttered.

"Well I found a fancy tiara in there while I was working on the cabinet, so I am guessing that's it," he replied calmly.

"How are you so nonchalant about finding the lost diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw?" I questioned him.

"Well I've been a bit preoccupied, Aemelia." His tone was a little too patronizing for my taste. As if I didn't know we were both stressed out.

"Right, but you could have given your girlfriends the fancy tiara you found," I was full on pouting at this point. He saw this and moved in close to wrap me up in his arms.

"I will buy you a brand new tiara, however big you want, love," his words cheered me up a little. I didn't actually need a new tiara, but diamonds are a girl's best friend. "I am out of ideas on the other two," he concluded, bringing us back to the topic at hand.

"We will think of something. In the meantime we need to destroy the ones we know about," I told him.

"Why?" he said, shocking me a little bit.

"Why!? So we can kill him!" I explained, louder than I should have. "Once we kill Dumbledore, we will have his wand, which everyone knows is the most powerful in existence. When we make a show of presenting it to the Dark Lord, we use it to kill him," I explained.

"When exactly did you come up with this plan?" his voice was ice cold. It was obvious that he was not happy with me.

"It is the only way, Draco. We will never be free of him until he his dead," I reiterated.

He grabbed me roughly by the arm and shook me, as though he thought he could make me see reason that way. "I said how long?" he growled.

"Since I found out you were meant to kill Dumbledore. The idea was solidified when the Dark Lord branded me with this mark," I pushed him deeper into the alcove we were hiding in, shoving my branded arm into his face. "I will serve no master. I rule my own fate," I said forcefully. I had my hand on his chest, holding him firmly against the wall. My words had taken the ice out of his eyes and seemed to light a spark instead. He was eyeing me hungrily.

"You are damn hot when you are mad," his voice was low and husky. Aggressively, he pushed me off him and against the opposite wall as he crushed his lips against mine. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he leveraged my weight against the wall. My left hand ran through his blond hair. I grabbed a fistful as he bit down on my lower lip. He moaned as he worked his way down my neck, nipping the sensitive skin. I reached up with my free hand to loosen his tie. I pushed off his robe to reveal the black trousers and white button up shirt underneath. He reached for his wand and cast a few spells to prevent us from being found. He broke apart from our kiss and smirked.

"What about me?" he asked with a devilish smile.

"What about you," I purred as he stroked me through my underwear.

"Don't you think the future Mrs. Malfoy should serve the Master of Malfoy Manor?" the grin on his face told me he was mostly joking, but knowing the way he was raised, I expected that there was only one correct answer here. I wasn't quite ready to submit just yet.

"Only when I'm naked, and only if you shut up and fuck me right now," I said impatiently.

"No, I think I would like to see a little bit of servitude first," he said elegantly, backing away slightly to set my feet back on the ground. He placed a hand on my shoulder and firmly pushed me to my knees, and I didn't resist. From this height I could see the bulge straining against his pants. I took out his impressive length and stroked it with my hand. I flicked the tip with my tongue and heard him moan loudly. I moved my mouth deeper onto him, picking up speed. He was breathing heavily now. I knew I could finish him in just a few more minutes.

"Fuck," he cursed under his breath. He pulled away from me. "Up," he commanded, and I stood. He turned me away from him. I bent and braced my hands on the wall in front of me. He pushed away my soaking wet underwear and positioned himself at my entrance. With one swift thrust he was fully inside me. He wasted no time, quickly thrusting into me over and over again. I gasped when he spanked me, "Say my name," he growled.

"Draco, Master Malfoy," I moaned, turning my head to look back at him. He spanked me again.

"Good girl," he said. Reaching forward, he grabbed my left arm and held it behind my back. He was hitting the sensitive spot deep inside me with each plunge, and I was getting close to the edge. I could feel him running his thumb along my fresh dark mark.

"He can't have you. You are mine," he muttered. Hearing that finished me, my body contracted around him. "Mine," he repeated before finishing seconds after me.

I took a moment to catch my breath. "Weren't we in the middle of something important?" I reminded him. He grunted and pulled out of me. I stood and adjusted my clothes to a more presentable state. I finished by touching up my makeup with my wand. Draco had merely zipped up his pants, preferring to leave his hair ruffled. I had to admit, it was a sexy look on him.

"Go home and steal your Aunt's vault key. We need that cup from her vault," I told him. He nodded slowly.

"What about you?" he asked.

"I am going to get a few other supplies. Meet me in the Room of Requirement by midnight," I instructed him, then turned to walk away. I heard his footsteps retreating in the opposite direction. I organized my thoughts as I walked. First, gather up the two horcruxes we know about. Second, destroy those. Third, figure out the two we didn't know and destroy those too. Fourth, let in the death eaters and kill the Headmaster. Finally, take his wand to the Dark Lord and kill Nagini and then Voldemort himself.

I let out a frustrated huff of air at my list. It was feeling rather insurmountable. One thing at a time, I muttered under my breath as I pushed open the door to an abandoned bathroom.

Thirty minutes later, I was back in the Room of Requirement. It was a good thing that pareseltongue was a learnable language, even better that students were always asking Harry Potter to speak to random snakes. Of course Potter never missed an opportunity to show off. The architecture in the Chamber of Secrets was wonderful. It would make an excellent new hangout for Slytherins after we cleaned up the dead snake. I had grabbed five fangs from the basilisk. Everyone knew that Harry had destroyed the diary with a fang, so it made sense to try the obvious first. I checked the time, Draco still had two hours. I found a soft cushion and sat down on it. I shifted to my animagus form, curled up, and fell asleep quickly.

I dreamed I was floating through the sky and came to rest on a cloud. It smelled delicious, and the cloud caressed and wrapped me up securely. I purred into the cloud. I felt safe. Can lynxes live in clouds, I wondered. I rolled over onto my back. The cloud was rubbing my stomach, eliciting more purrs from me. Why was the cloud chuckling?

The sound of Draco's laughter woke me up. He had picked me up off the cushion and was petting me in his lap. "I like you like this," he said to me. I purred for him. "Too bad we have work to do," he sighed as he set me on the floor. I shifted into my human form.

"Did you get the cup?" I asked him excitedly. He reached into his cloak and tossed it too me. It was smaller than I expected. "Any trouble?"

"Nope, I grabbed the key from Aunt Bella's room and took it to Gringotts. I'm family and I've been there without her before, so they let me in without any questions. Then I just put the key back and came here, where I found you sleeping like an angel," he told me.

"I'm no angel," I told him seriously. I had the cup in one hand, and I pulled out the fang with my other. "Do you want to do the honors?" I asked, holding out my hands to him. He hesitated, but he took the cup and the fang.

"What do I do with them?" he asked. I shrugged in response.

"Potter just stabbed the diary, maybe try that?" I suggested. He nodded and raised the fang over his head. He brought it down in a long arc, plunging the fang into the dull metal of the cup. I watched as it sank in deeper, as though the cup was made of butter. It started to shake violently on the floor. Draco was slowly backing away as smoke started to rise from the hole. Higher and larger it grew, taking the shape of a skull. I was frozen to the spot. It had me in its magical grip. Terror washed over me as the skull opened its mouth and swallowed me, but the smoke just dissipated around me, leaving me gasping for air. Draco scrambled up from the ground and hurried over to me. He had a firm grip on my arms, trying to shake me out of my shock.

"We need to do the other one," I heard him saying through the ringing in my ears. He pressed the diadem into my hands. I was ashamed to see that they were shaking. I didn't want to do this, I wanted to go home and curl up in my mother's arms. I knew that wasn't an option, so I took a deep breath to steel my nerves. He handed me a fang. I pressed the tip against the large sapphire in the center. I pushed down with all my strength. The sapphire cracked and shattered sending shards in every direction. I felt the sharp edges cut my skin as they flew past. One must have hit Draco because I heard him moan. A second later the entire diadem exploded into a fine dust that rained down on us in a glittering shower.

Draco's eyes were wide. Our gazes met and I jumped him. Surviving the Dark Lord's evil spirit had inspired a new appreciation for life in me. I straddled Draco, tearing at his clothes, not bothering with buttons. I ground my hips against him, desperate to feel him. Thankfully, Draco caught on quickly and helped me out by pulling his shirt over his head.

I kissed my way from his jaw down his abs. I followed the light trail of hair that led down from his belly button and disappeared into his trousers. I popped the button and pulled down the zipper. He waved his wand and vanished his pants entirely.

"Neat trick," I mumbled before positioning myself over top of his already erect member. Slowly, I slid down onto him, taking in every inch till I was full of him. In that moment I felt complete. I rolled my hips a little to tease him.

"Aemilia, please," he begged. I picked up the pace until I was riding him hard. He had his hands on my waist, pulling me down onto him. I threw my head back and came violently around him. Draco followed me into oblivion. I collapsed on top of him, letting him wrap me up in his arms.

"I'm not complaining, but we are never going to accomplish anything if we keep having sex every few hours," he joked. Planting a kiss on my forehead.

"What are we going to do about the two we don't know about," I asked him after I caught my breath.

"I think we have to ask Snape," he said.

"We can't trust him! He serves the Dark Lord," I objected firmly.

"He made an unbreakable vow to my mother that he would help and protect me. He can't betray me without killing himself," he explained smugly.

"Well that certainly does change things. Get up and get dressed. We need to go to bed, then we will talk to him first thing in the morning," I told him. He did as I said and we snuck quietly back to the Slytherin common room.


	14. Chapter 14

"YOU DID WHAT?" Snape yelled, and then after neither of us managed an answer he continued in a menacingly low voice, "are you insane?"

At this, Draco finally spoke up, "No, we are not insane, and we need your help to figure out the other two horcruxes."

"Don't say that word aloud! You've already caused enough danger for us without you going around yelling about secret dark magic," Snape hissed. "I warned you about getting this girl involved. She has filled your head with nonsense."

"Hey!" I protested indignantly. "My idea is not nonsense. It will work just fine if you help us. Besides, don't you want to be free of your servitude to him?"

Snape paused at that, as though he had not considered his freedom in the equation. "Walk me through it again," he said, "I was too mad to listen fully the first time."

"There are seven horcruxes, the diary, a ring, the diadem, the cup, Nagini, and two more we don't know about. Four are already destroyed, so we just need to identify the other two. Once we have all the easy ones done, we kill Dumbledore and go present his wand to Voldemort, but instead of giving it to him, I kill the snake and Draco kills Voldemort with the wand. Maybe someone less obnoxious can take over as Dark Lord." I finished with a sneer.

"You arrogant child, you think you can just walk in and kill the most powerful wizard alive?" Snape asked.

"He won't be the most powerful wizard alive once we have destroyed seven chunks of his soul. His strength is also his weakness," I snapped back.

"Are you going to help us or not?" Draco questioned him. Snape did not answer immediately. He turned his back to us and paced away towards his desk. I was ready to give up on him, when he turned and walked briskly back towards us.

"I know the other two horcruxes," he said, "I will destroy one, but the other will be up to you. Tonight Dumbledore is taking Potter to a cave to retrieve a locket, but it is a fake. The true horcrux is being worn by Umbridge. I will go get it from her and destroy it."

"What is the other one?" I asked him.

"The seventh horcrux is Harry Potter." He said quietly. Draco and I were both silent. There were no words. Even though we weren't the biggest Potter fans, we had trouble letting the information sink in.

"Are you sure?" Draco asked.

"Yes, Dumbledore told me himself. Part of the Dark Lord's soul broke off and latched itself onto Harry on the night he tried to kill him as a baby," Snape explained.

"It has to be tonight then," I said with finality. "They will be coming back from their trip, and we will be waiting for them. We kill them both."

"Aemilia," Draco said it like a question, like he couldn't believe what I had said.

"We know that Potter is planning on hunting all of these horcruxes anyways. You know he would sacrifice his life for this cause. We are just saving him from the decision," I knew I sounded heartless, but this was no time for weak spirits.

"She is right, I was supposed to tell him when the time was right," Snape admitted.

"Ok, Professor will you write us excuse notes for classes today? We need to prepare," Draco said, and with notes in hand we left his office, unsure of what the next twenty four hours would bring.

We spent the morning writing letters to people we loved. I noticed with sadness that my stack was substantially larger than Draco's stack. I had written to all my best friends, the only one left was my parents. The blank parchment in front of me was daunting, but I finally decided that I would just say everything, and then I would worry later about whether it was the perfect words.

 _Dear Mom and Dad,_

 _First, I love you, more than anything in the world. Thank you for raising me to know that ambition can coexist with good moral values. I have always considered you both to be role models and I have strived to live up to the example that you set for me. Second, I want you to know that I love Draco Malfoy. I know his family has a dark history, but he is a good person. Draco and I will be doing something dangerous tonight, and no matter what you hear about us, I want you to know that we did it for the right reasons. If we survive, I promise to tell you the whole story, if we do not…well try to remember me as the girl you raised, not as they will talk about us in the Prophet. I hope to be home with you soon._

 _With All the Love in My Heart,_

 _Aemilia_

I folded up the letter and sent it with my owl, Vici. Draco had also sent notes to his family, but only to inform them that it was time to put the plan into motion tonight. I knew Draco would have liked to say goodbye to his mother, but he couldn't risk giving us away. We had to maintain our secret.

At lunch, Draco managed to eat a green apple. I wolfed down an entire three course meal of my favorites. If I was going to die tonight, I wanted to enjoy my favorites.

By midafternoon, Snape sent us a note that simply said, "It is done". After that, Draco and I wasted time in the courtyard waiting for Potter to pass by on his way to Dumbledore's office.

"Are you scared, Aemilia?" he asked me. He had a snitch in his hands from a match he had won against Hufflepuff. He was twirling it around his long fingers, releasing it and catching it.

"No," I lied. I was terrified, but I wasn't willing to tell him that. We needed to be brave tonight, and I was planning on lying to myself all night about not being scared. The phrase, fake it till you make it, came to my mind. "Are you scared," I asked him.

"Yes," he replied simply, choosing not to elaborate. I wasn't going to push him. He was braver than I was just for being honest. I pulled a vial from my pocket.

"If there ever was a time to use this, it is now," I told him. Pressing it into his hands. He nodded and tipped it back, swallowing the contents. The protection potion was untested, but I hoped it would keep him safe. We remained quiet for the rest of the afternoon. Neither of us sure what to say, especially when the silence was more comfortable that conversation.

Finally, Potter walked by in the direction of Dumbledore's office. Granger and Weasley following along behind him. A few moments later and the Golden Couple went back the way they came. Draco took my hand and led me to the common room to wait for night to fall.

Just before midnight, he kissed me deeply at the base of the astronomy tower. There was no turning back at this point. The death eaters would be right behind us. We started up the steps, Draco continued to the top, and I hid underneath the platform. There was the distinctive pop of apparition and I heard Dumbledore's voice. I couldn't make out what he was saying, but Potter came down the steps. I quietly stupefied him, then bound him with an incarcerous. I felt a tear fall from my eye as the reality of what we were doing sunk in. The death eaters rushed by me. Snape walked by, signaling me to be quiet. I could hear Draco talking to Dumbledore.

Draco raised his voice, "I have to do this!" he cried. Silence. Then they came running down the stairs triumphantly. Bellatrix was dragging a rather shocked looking Draco by the collar. She stopped when she saw me standing over Potter.

"Dumbledore and Potter in one night!?" she exclaimed. "The Dark Lord will be so please with both of you."

I eyed Draco questioningly and he nodded weakly. I glanced down and saw the two wands in his hand. I held back the tears that were now threatening to give me away. I took a deep breath and levitated Potter down the stairs, following the others on our way out of the castle. Bellatrix was determined to use her time to wreak chaos by destroying windows and blasting statues. I lost control and cried when she set Hagrid's hut on fire. I hardly noticed when someone grabbed me and Potter and apparated us away from the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

I was dropped unceremoniously at the edge of the Malfoy property. The wards prevented them from apparating us directly in. Draco was next to me, he took my hand and led the way. The Dark Lord was waiting for us in the ballroom. He was sitting in a high backed chair, with his followers gathered around him.

I stepped forward, levitating Potter in front of me. "I've brought Potter for you, my Lord," I announced.

He rose from his seat. "Well done, my child. You have done what others have failed, and Dumbledore?" he asked, turning to look at Draco.

"It is done, as you commanded, Sir," he answered, keeping his head lowered in submission.

Voldemort took out his wand, pointing it at Potter, "Inervate," he said to wake Potter from the spell I had cast. His green eyes flew open, looking around in panic. "Hello again, Mr. Potter. Crucio!" he said menacingly. Potter writhed on the floor in pain. I looked down and closed my eyes. Draco squeezed my hand tightly. "Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort shouted. The beam of green light shot from the tip of his wand and hit Potter in the chest. He went limp. Dead.

Those gathered in the room cheered. Voldemort swept about the room in victory, relishing the attention as his followers bowed to him. I had a firm grasp on my wand, and my other hand moved to the long dagger concealed in my robes. Nagini slithered along behind the Dark Lord, I waited till she was passing by me, and without hesitation I brought the dagger down through her head, pinning her to the floor. Before anyone had time to react, I shouted, "Incendio," and watched as her body burned. Voldemort fell to the ground, clutching his chest.

"Now, Draco," I whispered fiercely. He raised Dumbledore's wand at Voldemort, but he was back on his feet. A bolt of green light hit me, just as a matching light left from Draco's direction. The last thing I saw as I fell to my knees was Voldemort collapsing in on himself and disintegrating into a million tiny pieces of ash. Then the spells started to fly, all across the room. I saw Draco surrounded in a halo of light, as spells bounced off harmlessly. Then, darkness.

-Epilogue-

Aemilia Buchanan died a war hero. Draco had flown into a fit of rage upon seeing her lying dead on his ballroom floor. Snape, Lucius, Draco, and Narcissa had quickly subdued the death eaters who fought back after Voldemort fell. Harry had revived just in time to see the whole thing. As it turned out, Voldemort only killed his own piece of soul, allowing Harry to return unharmed. His testimony and the arrest of the remaining death eaters, had redeemed the Malfoy family and Snape.

Draco had expanded the Malfoy potion company. He had made sure that Aemilia was given credit for her creation of the protection potion. She was buried with full honors at the Buchanan estate, and Draco visited her on her birthday every year.

Eight years later, Draco married Astoria, who had never given up on loving him. She had been his sole comfort in the dark days that followed Aemilia's death. They named their first son, Scorpius, and their eldest daughter was rightfully named Aemilia Malfoy.


End file.
